Race analysis: how Charles Leclerc end up in fourth place | 70th Anniversary GP. How Charles finished fourth in second Silverstone race.

Charles Leclerc and Scuderia Ferrari took an important fourth place in the Formula 1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix held yesterday at Silverstone. The result was down to a bravura performance from Charles, who had started from eighth on the grid, combined with the right strategy from the team, opting for a one stop in a race in which tyre management was key. Sebastian Vettel’s Sunday was definitely more complicated: he started eleventh and right on the opening lap he spun at the first corner. After that, he fought back to finish twelfth, two places off the points.

The Italian side has often been criticized for wrong strategies. At Silverstone, the Scuderia did everything right. Charles Leclerc started in eighth place and saw the chequered flag in fourth, while only overtooking one car. “This result feels like a victory,” cheered the Monegasque. The strategists had actually expected no more than eight place, but a one-stop race brought more for Charles and Ferrari.

On the first lap, Charles slipped back to tenth position and fought hard in the midfield until his only stop on lap 18. After changing from medium to hard tyres, the Ferrari driver was twelfth and made his only overtaking manoeuvre against Lando Norris. But gradually Charles moved up to third place given the fact that most other drivers went for a second pit-stop. Ferrari, on the other hand, switched to a one stop strategy because the hard tyre was working better than expected. “My biggest weakness last year was the tyre management. I worked hard on it. I’m glad I was reworded for it today” – the Monegasque driver admitted.

Charles was even on a podium position until lap 44, but no one expected the SF1000 car on old tyres to resist a charging Lewis Hamilton on fresh rubber: “After that, the vibrations got stronger. I had to slow down hard to bring the car home.” – Charles said, admitting that he had hoped to produce a miracle by staying close to Bottas and looking for any opportunity to score a highly unexpected podium in the second race at the Silverstone Circuit.