Leclerc was taking part in a demonstration race at the historic Monaco 2022 event last Sunday when the 1974 Ferrari 312B3 suffered a brake problem.
The 2022 Australian and Bahrain GP winner was on his third lap when he lost the rear of the car at the famous Rascasse right-hander, ending up in the barriers.
His teammate Carlos Sainz said on Thursday that he would not want to risk driving a historic car while Ferrari was in the title hunt.
Despite his accident, Leclerc said it was “always an honour” for him to drive historic cars and “it’s also part of our job and sometimes we need to get in those cars.”
ALSO: Why Leclerc’s historic crash shouldn’t put F1 drivers off to prove history
He said: “To be honest before that, I think all the checks that needed to be done were done.
“Obviously there was a shakedown of this car the previous Thursday and yes, the failure that occurred was a brake pad bolt and it’s impossible to tell.
“So to fight for a championship like this, I’ll think twice before doing it again in the future, but yeah, it’s also part of our job and sometimes we need to get into those cars.
“It is always also an honor for me and I am always very happy and very pleased to drive those cars and it is always a pleasure too.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari 312 B3 after the accident
Photo by: ACM
“But yeah, it’s always a balance that you have to find and of course when you’re fighting for the championship, or just in general, because it’s for safety in general.
“I had a lot of fun and this was unfortunate, but again, it was unfortunate.”
Leclerc also recently tested Gilles Villeneuve’s revered 1979 312T4 at Fiorano to mark the 40th anniversary of the Canadian Grand Prix winner’s death.
But he said he had more fun in Lauda’s car because the 312T4 was running on museum tires.
Leclerc said: “Niki’s was amazing until failure, it was a little less amazing there, but to be honest the Gilles one I drove had the museum tires on so I couldn’t push at all, they were very very old. . tires and it was difficult to go over 100 km/h.
“I had a lot more fun in Niki’s car.”
The Ferrari driver, who leads the 2022 F1 drivers’ standings after five rounds, said he feels an emotional connection driving historic cars, saying it was “great to experience how it was and how it is now”.
He added: “Of course it is, they are pilots that I have never seen in real life, obviously now with social media you can see a lot of their fights.
“You only appreciate how much risk they were taking once you get in one of their cars and see how confident they were at the time and what it was like to be fighting wheel to wheel at those speeds with those cars.
“I think it’s also great to experience how it was and how it is now, it’s very different now, it’s a lot faster but also a lot safer and we don’t have safety on our minds as much as they probably once did.” They were running.
“I have met Niki several times in the paddock in the past and yes, they are just legends of our sport, of course their cars are always amazing to drive.”
Reference-www.autosport.com