“I knew my weakness was straight-line speed,” Charles Leclerc on how Max Verstappen outsmarted him in DRS battle
Follow Us
Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc the Ferrari Formula One driver after yesterday’s enthralling race has revealed that Max Verstappen was able to get a grip over the mind games that he was playing in Saudi Arabia.
According to Charles Leclerc, the dutchman was able to understand the DRS tricks that he was using in the first and last corners of the Jeddah Cornich Circuit.
Before understanding Leclerc’s trick Max was seen charging past Charles and then the very next moment was getting overtaken by the Monegasque driver.
However, Max is a thinking man who is good at analyzing situations and after getting past once Max didn’t make the same mistake twice and waited until turn 1 to get the move done on Leclerc.
while talking about the tussle, Leclerc said, “I knew my weakness was straight-line speed compared to the Red Bull’s,” said Leclerc, talking to Sky Sports F1. “It worked once and then the second time he understood so he braked very early. It was fun, I like the racing like this – the new regulations are definitely working.”
Ferrari was hands down the quickest car when it came to sector 1 but it was a completely different story when it came to straight-line speed, the two Red Bulls had the advantage over the Ferrari’s.
Charles Leclerc: I don’t think there was much more I could do
Charles Leclerc believes when it came to the battle between him and Max, he gave his everything on the track, from brainpower to racecraft, he let his all out.
“It was tricky today. I will look back at the race but I don’t think there was much more I could do. One opportunity we missed with the yellow flags in Turn 1, so we didn’t have the DRS there which could have been an opportunity to be alongside Max at the end of the straight.”
“We are working very well as a team. I think the only thing would have been a lower downforce level.”
Leclerc and Verstappen have been going up against each other since their junior karting days so they have the utmost respect for each other and it certainly shows on track when they battle during races.
Verstappen after yesterday’s race also gave his opinion on the tussle between himself and Leclerc. “It’s super-close between us. You have to be patient as I want to win and score points.”
“We have a lot of respect for each other, which is why we have these good battles.”
The two young drivers are the current and future stars of F1 and for them to say such things about each other speaks volumes of how highly they rate each other and most importantly have the respect that is expected of F1 drivers for each other.
Also Read: Saudi Arabian GP 2022: Three winners from the second race of the season
Stay Updated!
/techfirstnow/media/agency_attachments/kATjCXskQdJKkXN0OuqW.png)