Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc secured the third step of the podium for the Maranello team in the 2023 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix over 44 laps of the 7.004-kilometre Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, only beaten by the two untouchable Red Bull RB19 cars.
The Italian side is back on the podium. Charles Leclerc achieved a well-deserved third place at the Belgian Grand Prix, thanks to a race in which he managed the tires, fuel, and race pace until the 44th lap.
Starting from pole position, the Monegasque driver couldn’t keep the determined Sergio Perez behind, who aimed to create as much gap as possible between himself and Max Verstappen to defend against the Dutchman’s comeback.
At that point, Charles Leclerc managed to maintain the second position until the arrival of the two-time world champion. Max Verstappen’s pace was too fast to resist, but the Ferrari driver skillfully prevented any other overtaking attempts and secured the lowest step of the podium.
Credit also goes to the Maranello team, capable of setting up the SF-23 cars very well in a weekend where teams had limited practice due to the single free practice session (the Sprint day had a significant impact) and the heavy rain that fell since Friday.
After the race, Charles Leclerc did not hide his satisfaction in bringing the Red car back to the podium, although he is aware that there is still a long way to go to compete for the top two steps of the podium.
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“Yes, we were competitive, but not enough to fight with the Red Bulls,” Charles Leclerc stated after the Belgian race. “It was quite a positive weekend for us in terms of pace. Obviously, the race went well for me, but it’s a shame for Carlos because I think we had a good pace, and that’s a positive sign. When we look at Red Bull, we still have a lot of work to do, especially in terms of race pace, as they are still quite ahead of us in terms of tire degradation and other aspects.” – the Ferrari driver pointed out.
In the second half of the race, Charles Leclerc had to manage the duel with Lewis Hamilton, who was just a couple of seconds behind. For two-thirds of the 44 laps, the 25-year-old from Monte-Carlo had no trouble keeping the seven-time champion at bay, despite two undercut attempts at the pit stop by the latter.
A message from the Ferrari box to do fuel-saving alerted Charles Leclerc, but he excelled in managing his pace, fuel, and maintaining his third position.
“I was quite calm even with Hamilton behind me. I was at least until I was told to do fuel-saving. That was a quite big issue towards the end of the race because then I struggled a bit more. But we had the pace to keep him behind. Then we knew he would pit to try and set the fastest lap, and when he did that, it made my life easier.” – the Monegasque concluded.
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