Charles Leclerc completed the Mexican Grand Prix in second place after a troublesome battle with Max Verstappen, marking his fiftieth podium with Ferrari. Within the closing phases of the race, he managed to keep up his place, aided barely by a well timed intervention.
With simply two laps remaining, when the four-time world champion was practically in DRS vary behind Charles Leclerc’s SF-25, Carlos Sainz triggered a yellow flag within the last sector – turns 14, 15, and 16. After a tense couple of minutes, a Virtual Safety Car was deployed, which in the end labored in Ferrari’s favor, permitting Leclerc to remain forward of Max Verstappen with out taking pointless dangers.
As they approached the final corners of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Charles Leclerc executed a wonderful restart after the VSC interval and held his place to the end line. The robust qualifying efficiency and glorious race administration by Ferrari’s quantity 16 performed a vital function in securing yet one more podium this season.
Leclerc’s reflections on the beginning
The beginning of the Mexican GP was chaotic, and Charles Leclerc discovered himself within the thick of it. With Lewis Hamilton trying to overhaul and Max Verstappen closing quickly in his Pink Bull, the Monegasque was squeezed on either side on the Flip 1 braking zone. He tried to keep away from contact however needed to lower the nook to stop a harmful state of affairs. He rejoined the monitor forward of Lando Norris however instantly gave the place again.
In the meantime, Max Verstappen was pressured off monitor and practically hit the wall as a result of lack of house for 3 vehicles in Flip 1. When he rejoined, Lewis Hamilton was forward, resulting in a battle for third place. Within the early laps, the British driver repeatedly radioed that he was forward of Charles Leclerc and wished the place again, however the crew issued no orders.
Charles Leclerc commented on the beginning: “Ah, there was no house. I did my greatest to brake as a lot as I might. Lewis [Hamilton] in all probability didn’t know Max [Verstappen] was on his left. Max, I don’t know if he realized there was somebody on his proper. We touched, which pushed me off monitor. I then determined to chop the nook as a result of the angle with the subsequent flip would have been very harmful. After that, I gave the place again to Lando [Norris], noticed some chaos behind, after which centered on my race.”
This fiftieth podium for the 28-year-old is especially significant, particularly because the crew had totally different expectations in the beginning of the yr. The final two races, nonetheless, have despatched constructive alerts for Ferrari.
“It’s very constructive. I’m clearly very blissful as a result of right now I believe McLaren was on one other stage, then there was Pink Bull, and after that, there was us. And we nonetheless managed to complete forward of Pink Bull,” Charles Leclerc added.
“We have been additionally barely helped by the Security Automotive, however I’m glad with these final two races. I believe we executed every thing completely. No regrets. We simply must preserve going like this till the top of the season,” concluded Ferrari’s quantity 16.
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