Leclerc anticipated first corner Norris/Verstappen tussle in Austin
Today at 09:26 AM
Charles Leclerc revealed that he strategically anticipated the tussle between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen at the first corner of the United States Grand Prix, a move that helped him seize the race lead and eventually claim victory.
Lining up fourth on the grid, Leclerc watched as pole-sitter Norris and title-contender Verstappen battled aggressively up the hill to Turn 1, both drivers running wide after Verstappen's bold lunge up the inside of the McLaren driver.
Leclerc, poised to take advantage, timed his approach perfectly, cutting underneath both of his rivals, but also his Scuderia teammate Carlos Sainz, to slip into the lead.
"I knew that Max and Lando would be very aggressive towards each other," Leclerc explained after his Austin win, his eighth career victory in F1.
"I mean, they are fighting for the championship. I got a good start, I saw that Max was going towards the inside as well as Lando and I was like, 'I'm just going to prepare the exit of the corner', which was obviously a winning bet.
"And from that moment onwards, then I could focus on my own race."
Leclerc's quick thinking and Ferrari's superior race pace allowed him to extend his advantage over Verstappen, who eventually also fell behind Carlos Sainz at the midway point of the race, which delivered a resounding 1-2 to the House of Maranello.
Reflecting on the triumph, Leclerc highlighted how satisfying it was to lead from the outset.
"It feels really good as every victory feels special for its own reason and obviously from the start I felt really good with the car," he said.
"I was quite confident from yesterday because even though there were quite a lot of fights yesterday, the car felt great and we knew that we had a good race pace. We were a little bit more sceptical about qualifying, but P4 was good.
"Then after that start, when I got out of Turn 1 into first, I knew that it was all about trying to use the pace of the car that we had yesterday and trying to take care of those tyres."
Leclerc described the race as a "lonely" but satisfying one after gaining the lead.
"The car felt great," he added. "So from that moment onwards, it was a bit of a lonely race, but it's a good kind of lonely. And I hope we can reproduce that in the future."
©Ferrari
Ferrari's performance in Austin marked a breakthrough for the Italian outfit whose recent upgrades now appear to be paying big dividends.
While optimistic regarding the near future, Leclerc was also cautious about what may lie ahead.
"So it's very difficult to predict where we will be in the next few races," he said.
"However, we've said since two or three races, we brought a few upgrades and we were always waiting for Austin because it was going to be the real test for those upgrades.
"And it seems to be working all good. So that is positive for the future.
"It doesn't mean that we'll be having every Sunday the way it's been today, but it means that we are working in the right direction and that can only be positive.
"So I hope we can reproduce these kind of results more often."
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