Monegasque Charles Leclerc won the third event this season. He defeated Dutchman Max Verstappen at Sunday’s Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Leclerc started from the second position after being beaten by Verstappen in the sprint race on Saturday. The next day, Leclerc showed a better pace throughout the event on Sunday.
Leclerc reported problems with the accelerator pedal late in the race.
“Yes! Come on, Leclerc exclaimed via the radio system after crossing the finish line. I was scared. I was very scared. Yes!
He finally made it to the finish with a 1.532-second lead over Verstappen after 71 laps.
“I needed this victory. The last five races have been very difficult,” Leclerc said. In the end, it was very difficult. I had this trouble with the accelerator.
The mutual respect between Verstappen and Leclerc, the former karting rivals, is slowly growing.
“You were so fast today,” Verstappen said in the relaxation room after the race.
“Yes, we were very fast,” Leclerc replied.
Red Bull’s Verstappen still dominates the drivers’ standings with 208 points. His teammate Sergio Perez ceded second place to Leclerc as he was forced to retire.
The result of trouble arose from contact with George Russell on the first lap.
Halfway through the calendar, Leclerc is 38 points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ standings.
Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate, Carlos Sainz, seemed to get ahead of Verstappen in the second position with about fifteen laps.
Sainz stopped his car on the edge of a gravel pit as the flames spread rapidly.
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,” he repeated after his engine failed.
Sainz’s retirement allowed Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to climb to the third step of the podium. He was ahead of his teammate Russell.
“These are great points, and we keep moving forward,” Hamilton said. Thank you to the whole team for their hard work.
Six years after his debut, Esteban Ocon celebrated his 100th F1 Grand Prix with a fifth-place finish in his Alpine car. He is ahead of Mick Schumacher’s Haas.
Lando Norris (McLaren), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Daniel Ricciardo (Mclaren), and Fernando Alonso (Alpine) rounded out the top 10.
Quebec driver Lance Stroll of Aston Martin finished in 13th place. Williams’ Nicholas Latifi of Toronto could not make it to the finish.
The F1 circus will now head to Le Castellet for the France Grand Prix, from 22 to 24 July.
