Charles Leclerc finished the Mexican Grand Prix in second place after a tough battle with Max Verstappen, marking his 50th podium with Ferrari. In the closing stages of the race, he managed to maintain his position, aided slightly by a timely intervention.
With just two laps remaining, when the four-time world champion was nearly in DRS range behind Charles Leclerc’s SF-25, Carlos Sainz triggered a yellow flag in the final sector – turns 14, 15, and 16. After a tense few minutes, a Virtual Safety Car was deployed, which ultimately worked in Ferrari’s favor, allowing Leclerc to stay ahead of Max Verstappen without taking unnecessary risks.
As they approached the last corners of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Charles Leclerc executed an excellent restart after the VSC period and held his position to the finish line. The strong qualifying performance and excellent race management by Ferrari’s number 16 played a crucial role in securing yet another podium this season.
Leclerc’s reflections on the start
The start of the Mexican GP was chaotic, and Charles Leclerc found himself in the thick of it. With Lewis Hamilton attempting to overtake and Max Verstappen closing rapidly in his Red Bull, the Monegasque was squeezed on both sides at the Turn 1 braking zone. He tried to avoid contact but had to cut the corner to prevent a dangerous situation. He rejoined the track ahead of Lando Norris but immediately gave the position back.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen was forced off track and nearly hit the wall due to the lack of space for three cars in Turn 1. When he rejoined, Lewis Hamilton was ahead, leading to a battle for third place. In the early laps, the British driver repeatedly radioed that he was ahead of Charles Leclerc and wanted the position back, but the team issued no orders.
Charles Leclerc commented on the start: “Ah, there was no space. I did my best to brake as much as I could. Lewis [Hamilton] probably didn’t know Max [Verstappen] was on his left. Max, I don’t know if he realized there was someone on his right. We touched, which pushed me off track. I then decided to cut the corner because the angle with the next turn would have been very dangerous. After that, I gave the position back to Lando [Norris], saw some chaos behind, and then focused on my race.”
This 50th podium for the 28-year-old is particularly meaningful, especially as the team had different expectations at the start of the year. The last two races, however, have sent positive signals for Ferrari.
“It’s very positive. I’m obviously very happy because today I think McLaren was on another level, then there was Red Bull, and after that, there was us. And we still managed to finish ahead of Red Bull,” Charles Leclerc added.
“We were also slightly helped by the Safety Car, but I’m satisfied with these last two races. I think we executed everything perfectly. No regrets. We just need to keep going like this until the end of the season,” concluded Ferrari’s number 16.
