19/11/2023
NEWS STORY
Charles Leclerc says he really enjoyed the Las Vegas Grand Prix despite the Safety Car that robbed him of a potential win.
Though he claimed second on the final lap - the second successive race to see Sergio Perez lose out - the Monegasque was still smarting from Max Verstappen's first corner lunge and the subsequent timing of the Safety Car that followed George Russell's clash with the Dutchman.
"Of course I'm disappointed to only finish second," said the Ferrari driver, "but at the end that was the best we could do.
"At the start, it was very tricky because I think Max on the inside lost a little bit of grip and brought me on the outside," he said of the first corner incident. "But then we had the pace, we passed him back and we were really strong overall."
Despite losing out to Verstappen in the opening corner, he subsequently reclaimed the position, while an added bonus was the Dutchman being hit with a 5s penalty.
However, the Safety Car on Lap 26 following the Russell/Verstappen incident allowed Sergio Perez back into the picture as his Dutch teammate worked his way back through the field.
"We got a bit unluckily with the safety car," he admitted. "We didn't pit because we didn't know what the others will do. We went for track position and keeping that first place. That was difficult with the older tyres towards the end, but second place with a lot of fights, honestly I enjoyed it."
Though eventually passed by both Red Bulls, Leclerc passed Perez with a bold move on the final lap to claim the second spot on the podium.
"I'm sorry about the second place," he said. "But on the other hand, I'm sure that everybody had an amazing time looking at the race. I really, really enjoyed it. We shall have more races like that where the racing is like that because it was really enjoyable.
"I think we needed it," he added. "Of course, the weekend didn't start the way it had to start, but I'm so happy that it ended that way. It's such an incredible sport.
"I think today, there was no better race than our first race in Vegas. The energy around the city is incredible and just really happy, at least I enjoyed today."
Though happy with the second, the Monegasque insists that the win was on.
"It was ours," he said, "because we had a really good first stint on the medium and we had five laps newer hard than Max.
"I had a good four, five laps in order to bring them into temperature and we had done a really good job on that. So, I was really confident that the win was ours.
"Then there was unfortunately the Safety Car. Max and Checo stopped and I stayed on my five laps used hard, which is not too much, five laps. But the problem is that then when you cool them down during the Safety Car, to restart a used tyre is incredibly difficult with those temperatures. And there we lost the race.
"But on the other hand, I think the last part of the race was extremely fun. And that gave me a lot of adrenaline inside the car, and I really enjoyed it."
Asked about Verstappen's move at the first corner, he said: "Ah, well, I think Max already came to me and explained the situation.
"Obviously, it was on the limit, over the limits and I think the five seconds penalty is deserved.
"It was tight," he added. "I still try to push off the track, but it was so low grip, to try and keep that position. But it's the way it is. He has been penalised. He paid a penalty. And I think that was the right penalty to give.
"I just think that in those kinds of situations, it will be better for the FIA to ask to give the place back. Because I think there's quite a bit of an advantage to take care of tyres when you have free air. But yeah, it's the way it is."
Check out our Race Day gallery from Las Vegas here.