Charles Leclerc reveals Sergio Perez’s grave error at Las Vegas GP that encouraged him to go for the last lap overtaking

Charles Leclerc revealed interesting info on his famous last lap pass on Sergio Perez’s Red Bull at the Las Vegas GP.

Charles Leclerc reveals Sergio Perez’s grave error at Las Vegas GP that encouraged him to go for the last lap overtaking

Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc (via imago)

Despite the bumpy start, the eventual Las Vegas Grand Prix on Sunday turned out to be a stellar race. Fans of the sport are always excited about a last-lap pass and the several gathered around the Sin City streets witnessed a stellar variation of their favourite to exchange the eventual podium places. Charles Leclerc landed a beautiful pass against Sergio Perez’s Red Bull in the lead-up to Turn 14 on very last lap of the titular Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc was having a great time at the weekend. The Monégasque claimed pole on Saturday and led most of the race on Sunday. The Ferrari driver was negatively impacted due to an unforeseen safety car as his two Red Bull rivals pitted for fresher tires. These fresher tires allowed the Red Bull pair to overtake Leclerc and lead the race in P1 (Verstappen) and P2 (Perez). Leclerc has now revealed an interesting mistake by the Mexican driver that allowed his Ferrari to pass Perez as he talked about it [as reported by Motorsportweek].

Once I went for it I was pretty confident it would work out. It was basically the only opportunity I had. It’s the only place where you can really go for an overtake. And in the second to last lap, I started to recharge the batteries in order to get ready for that last lap and it worked out.

YouTube video

Leclerc’s comment suggest how the driver was on the lookout for Perez’s weakness on the street circuit while trailing the Mexican’s Red Bull. Perez’s added caution while braking for T14 allowed Leclerc to squeeze through and claim P2. It was a pass that will be long remembered.

Charles Leclerc’s disdain over extremely high priced Las Vegas GP tickets

Last weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix stood out as the most eagerly anticipated event of the 2023 Formula 1 calendar. However, as the GP weekend drew near, concerns from various paddock members regarding exorbitant ticket prices began to echo ahead of the opening day. General admission tickets around the MSG Sphere were reported to be on sale for a hefty $966 (£844), a price tag that didn’t even guarantee a direct view of the circuit.

Charles Leclerc (Via Imago)
Charles Leclerc (Via Imago)

When questioned about the steep ticket pricing potentially alienating fans from the Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc expressed his agreement, stating, “I hope that Formula 1 is working around that because for sure there’s been many events now that are just incredibly expensive. Also, real fans that truly love the sport cannot even afford to get to the races and actually watch the races, so this is definitely an issue that has to be tackled.”

The Fans who were able to afford the tickets suffered further disappointment on the opening day as the FP1 session was cancelled after only 8 minutes of action. The spectators were later forced to vacate the grandstand as the delayed FP2 session went underway without a single fan in the grandstand. The fans, after demanding a refund, were only awarded F1 merchandising vouchers worth a mere $200. Needless to say, the ticketing debacle will forever taint the inaugural round of the hyped Grand Prix.