No he Spanish GP that was expected for Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver concluded his race in fifth position, trying to attack Russell at the end. In fact, the two arrived in a sprint, with the Brit ahead of the Monegasque.
Leclerc doesn't agree: "Lost a position with the initial fight"
Poisonous words were then released by #16 in the post-race interviews. Talking about the fight between him and his partner Carlos Sainz in the first laps, Leclerc was very clear: it was not what had been set out in the team briefing.
“Struggle at the beginning? Not correct – explained Charles – But above all not right at that point of the race. In this morning's briefing it was agreed to save the tire in the first laps. We were told to watch out for the last corner. I followed the procedures, but Carlos entered very fast and I found him alongside me at the end of the straight. Then we touched and I damaged the left front wing. This cost us time and maybe even a position. It will be important to talk in the team. It was his home grand prix and it is at a delicate moment in his career; he certainly wanted to try something spectacular but it didn't bear fruit".
Leclerc: “After the contact, it was a good race, but we can't rely on ifs and buts…”
Precisely speaking about the possible lost position, Leclerc underlined how with one more lap he would have overtaken Russell. The winner of the Monaco GP however reiterated that you can't always rely on ifs and buts: “With one more lap we most likely would have caught George [Russell]. As mentioned, we lost this opportunity due to the fight between me and Sainz, because after the contact I had a good race. Obviously though with ifs and buts we don't get anywhere. Maybe we needed to do something different about the strategy – continued Charles speaking about the choice of the wall – When you're in the middle of the group you have to make decisions. In my opinion we could have gone longer in the first stint because the pace was there. As I have already explained, after the match we are all good and we must be satisfied with today's result.".
ARTICLE BY FRANCESCO ORLANDO
Source statements: sky sports f1
