“The straight-line speed difference was much bigger,” Charles Leclerc highlights the major difference between Ferrari and Red Bull
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Charles Leclerc
During the Saudi Arabian GP, we witnessed some intense racing at different positions on the grid. But the most thrilling one was at the front, where we saw the fierce fight between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen.
Charles Leclerc, during the battle, held his position at the top since we saw the safety car come out after Nicholas Latifi’s crash early in the race till the 47th lap of the race when Max Verstappen overtook him and won the race. The Ferrari driver’ strategy worked out well until Max slowed down before the DRS detection line down the final corner of the track in the 47th lap, after which Leclerc couldn’t catch up with Verstappen.
This is also where Charles believes Red Bull has the advantage over Ferrari. As quoted by GP Fans, he said, “I think the point where we struggled the most is whenever Max got the DRS basically because our weaknesses were just bigger, the straight-line speed difference was much bigger. We were still quick in the corners, but not enough to have that margin to cover. So from that moment onwards, it was a bit more difficult for us.”
Charles Leclerc on the tire strategy in Saudi Arabia
For most of the drivers, the go-to pit stop strategy was a single pit, which, too, for many came during the yellow flag and under the safety car, saving them the time compared to a normal pit stop. The two sets of tires used by most were medium and hard.
Leclerc, looking at the race, believes that tires weren’t the reason for his loss. He said, “Yeah, I don’t think it is the reason why we lost a win. They were consistent, but the first run was a bit more difficult. I think we did a great job by managing those mediums because it wasn’t easy following Checo. But towards the end, we actually had quite a good pace on those mediums. Then on the hard, it felt nice whenever I had a little bit of margin I felt like I could keep the gap to Max.”
Charles Leclerc, after waiting for two years of the promised development, is reaping the awards at Ferrari with possibly one of the best cars of this season. The car has also helped him and Carlos Sainz launch off to a great start this season.
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Manan Goel
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