Unexpectedly, Charles Leclerc secured a podium finish in Spain, trailing behind the two McLaren drivers. The Monegasque overtook Max Verstappen after the restart in the final stages of the race. As soon as Leclerc was informed that the Dutchman was on hard tyres for the last few laps, the Ferrari driver knew he had a chance. ‘And there it was,’ a delighted Leclerc said.
Charles Leclerc started the race in seventh place, but soon found himself in the wake of his teammate Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari allowed the seven-time world champion to step aside for his younger teammate. However, it was only after the restart in lap sixty that Leclerc entered the top three, following an overtaking manoeuvre on Verstappen, who was on hard tyres.
“It was a battle for track position and to catch the slipstream (from Norris, ed.),” Leclerc reflects on the restart after the race. “Max wanted to push me inside, where all the rubber is. However, I didn’t want to go there, and that’s why there was contact. But there were no major consequences. I’m very happy with today. I did sacrifice the qualification a bit yesterday, so I had better tyres today. I had no idea if that would help, but it did. We were lucky with the safety car, but in the end, we have a podium finish.”
Chance for a Podium Finish
Leclerc secured the third spot at the last moment, after overtaking Verstappen after the restart. “When my engineers told me that Max was on hard tyres, I was optimistic. I knew how bad the hard tyres were. Then I thought: ‘If I have a good restart, there might be a chance.’ And there it was.”
