‘Red’ Battle
The dream of Ferrari fans to witness one of the Scuderia’s drivers win at Monza this year did not materialize, but the excitement was not lacking. In addition to celebrating Carlos Sainz’s third-place finish, it was the battle for a podium spot that generated the most thrills for the spectators at the Autodromo, as the Spaniard had to defend his position on multiple occasions from Charles Leclerc, his teammate.
Averted Nightmare
A duel that rewarded yesterday’s pole sitter but, in some instances, risked turning into a nightmare with a potential collision between the two Maranello drivers. However, this scenario did not materialize, in part due to the responsibility of the two Ferrari representatives to avoid excessive attacking or defensive maneuvers, ensuring a clean battle devoid of potentially disastrous low blows for the outcome of the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza circuit. Charles Leclerc, who acknowledged the mutual fairness on the track, even quipped to Sky Sport F1’s microphones:
“The race was fun from the cockpit, but for you watching from the outside, among the fans and Fred Vasseur, you must have experienced it with two or three heart attacks. I love F1 like this, with these kinds of battles between me, Carlos, and Checo, very similar to the ones I had with Max. Carlos was on the limit in defending, and I was on the limit in attacking, but that’s what I like about this sport. It was a fun race, just a shame not to be on the podium. Carlos made it there, and he must enjoy this special moment in his career.”
More Fired Up for Marina Bay
Speaking of this internal challenge, Charles Leclerc had the opportunity to add more comments, hoping to witness or experience such duels in the future. An idea that, at least for Ferrari, is unlikely to repeat itself in the upcoming Marina Bay appointment, with the Monegasque driver still arriving with greater motivation:
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“In Singapore, it will be harder to deliver a performance like this because we’ll return with a lighter car, which is our weakness on certain circuits. It was really nice, a battle that reminded me of karting days, and I really hope we have more races like this; that should be the goal for the future of F1, because that’s when we truly have fun. I almost forgot I was fighting for third place. My goal was to push to the end in a weekend that started uphill for me. But then I made a step forward in qualifying, and in the race, I was there, so I’m happy. I can’t hide that I would have liked to step on the podium, but it was an incredible and special weekend, a race that fired me up, and I can’t wait to go to Singapore.” – the Ferrari driver concluded.
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