The Ferrari driver described his feelings after the race in Shanghai. In post-race interviews, Charles Leclerc appeared disappointed despite a good race, especially when compared to his teammate. The nightmare of George Russell continues for the Monegasque, who passed Hamilton thanks to a team order but then failed to make the overtake on the Mercedes.
Charles Leclerc’s race in China
Starting from sixth, Charles managed to pass Max Verstappen. In turn two, the first scuffles began within Ferrari, with driver number 16 finding a gap and attempting to pass Lewis. This attempt failed, ending in contact between the two, which caused damage to Leclerc’s front wing. Specifically, the left endplate broke off.
This did not stop Charles Leclerc, who didn’t suffer much from the damage and managed to maintain a good pace. After a general management phase, the race intensified with pit stops. The two Ferraris fitted hard tires, and Charles decided not to change the front wing. After the stop, driver number 16 showed a better pace than his teammate, but he could not overtake him.
Hamilton did not immediately comply with the team order, but eventually allowed Charles Leclerc through, so the Monegasque could try to close the gap to Russell. Charles Leclerc caught up with the Mercedes but was unable to make the pass. Everything Leclerc gained during the lap, he lost in turn 13, from which he didn’t exit close enough to attempt an attack.
In the final stages of the race, an unexpected Max Verstappen arrived behind Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque struggled to defend and couldn’t hold him off, ultimately settling for fourth place. Thus, an unusual weekend for Charles Leclerc ended, as he had a shadowed Saturday compared to his teammate. On Sunday, however, the Monegasque demonstrated good performance when compared to his teammate.
Without that broken wing…
“Everything was difficult to manage. I’m disappointed because thirty points is a lot.” Charles Leclerc refers to the extent of the damage suffered at the start. Despite the loss of the left endplate, Leclerc managed to maintain a good pace. Nevertheless, the team identified a loss of thirty points of downforce, and according to Charles Leclerc, this significantly impacted the race result.
“Today, the victory was within our reach because the pace was really good. Unfortunately, what happened at the start affected us, but it wasn’t anyone’s fault.” Charles Leclerc explained the dynamics of the contact, defending his teammate with whom he made contact at the beginning of the race. “I went on the inside, didn’t think Lewis would come back to that side, but of course, it wasn’t his fault. I was in his blind spot, and that’s how we touched. Luckily, this didn’t end our race. After that, we showed good pace and tire management.” – he pointed out.
Lewis Hamilton received a team order to let Leclerc try to attack Russell. However, George has now become Charles Leclerc’s nightmare, as the Monegasque observed the rear of the W16 closely again this weekend. “The Mercedes was a missile out of turn 12, so impossible to overtake. We were easy to pass, in fact, Max didn’t lose much time behind me.”
“Today, I think the pace was really good, but losing thirty points of downforce is really significant. So today, we didn’t see the car’s true pace. I knew I’d be further back in qualifying. For the race, I had more confidence, and that was confirmed, but unfortunately, with that damage, it was hard to do better.” – Charles Leclerc concluded.
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