“A racing incident,” is how Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc described the contact with the McLaren of Oscar Piastri and the Red Bull of Sergio Pérez at the start of the 2024 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix. The incident, however, compromised the entire race for him, making it an uphill battle at the 4.318-kilometre Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.
“At the same time, Checo squeezed into Turn 1, knowing that with three cars there, it couldn’t end well,” the Monegasque driver commented post-race while speaking to the media after finishing the Austrian Grand Prix in P11.
“I think he took advantage because there was space, and he had every right to do so. However, he was overly optimistic. As for me, I found myself like a passenger because as soon as I had Checo on the inside and Oscar on the outside, I just left space for them.” – he pointed out.
It was impossible to find any positives from the weekend in Austria. “Carlos and I set up the car in completely opposite ways, and I think there are still many things to learn.”
After the contact at the start, the Ferrari driver was forced to pit to change the damaged wing. From there, it was a struggle in the back of the field. The Maranello team was hoping for a Safety Car, which never came. Or rather, it did, but only in the final stages after the incident between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
“The contact certainly didn’t help. But we started far back and were not lucky. There was no SC, just the VSC at the end, but it didn’t help for the win. We lost too much time at the beginning,” Charles Leclerc added, this time speaking to Canal+.
Scuderia Ferrari will try to bounce back in the British Grand Prix at the Silverstone circuit, where the race will take place next weekend.
Source: f1ingenerale
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