WATCH: “Fu**, I just don’t want to clip you…,” Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton discuss their brilliant battle in Silverstone
Follow Us
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton
This year’s British Grand Prix has generally been agreed upon to be the best race of the season, and one of the most entertaining races that spectators had been treated to in a while. The race had everything – a three-way battle (almost a five-way battle) for the podium spots, safety car drama, crash and red flag on the start (thankfully everyone was okay) and a first-time winner in Carlos Sainz.
The highlight of the race for many fans was the intense three-way battle between Charles Leclerc, Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton. After the safety car had come out on lap 39, many drivers out front were able to get cheap pit stops, but Ferrari chose not to bring Charles Leclerc in, leaving him out there with much older and slower hard tyres.
This set the stage for the battle between them, and when the safety car came into the pits on lap 43, Leclerc was basically fighting with one hand tied behind his back. He was passed on the same lap by his teammate Carlos Sainz but was able to hold from Sergio Perez for another two laps when he was finally passed by the Mexican after he cut the chicane and pushed Leclerc off the track. It was certainly hard (but fair) racing, but the best was yet to come.
David Coulthard on Charles Leclerc’s overtake: “You’ll not see a finer display”
After being pushed off the track, Leclerc came out behind both Perez and Hamilton, but Perez soon overtook Hamilton, and Leclerc did too. On lap 48, one of the best moments of the entire race – and perhaps the season took place. Lewis Hamilton just inched ahead of Leclerc on the run down to Copse, but Leclerc was not keen on giving up.
Charles Leclerc – with old hard tyres against Lewis Hamilton’s much fresher softs, overtook the seven-time world champion down the outside at Copse, a move immediately judged by many fans to be one of the finest overtakes of the season – perhaps the finest. Unfortunately for Leclerc, he could not hold Hamilton back any longer after that and was overtaken on the Hangar Straight down into Stowe.
Despite being overtaken – no one could fault Leclerc’s driving. The Monegasque was consistently faster than his teammate during the race, even with 5 points less downforce due to his endplate having fallen off after his contact with Sergio Perez, and even after Ferrari had thrown him into dire straits, he still tried his best to hold the onslaught off, and people were certainly impressed by his efforts. Indirectly, his fight with Perez and Hamilton also helped Sainz pull away from the three of them, which obviously helped his race victory.
He was praised by commentators, pundits, fans, and almost everyone that had seen the overtake. Recently a video surfaced of him discussing the move with Lewis Hamilton, where Hamilton says “F**k, I don’t want to just clip you and send you off.” in reference to their battle, which obviously implies he left enough space for Leclerc. Certainly, there is much mutual respect between the two, as can be seen in their racing, and this clip too.
Also Read: Mercedes explain how they repaired Lewis Hamilton’s car in just 3.5 hours in Austria
Stay Updated!
Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)