Charles Leclerc made it back-to-back podiums with a third-place finish at the Spanish Grand Prix last weekend. He responded well after an uncharacteristically poor qualifying.
Leclerc started the race down in seventh, losing out to teammate Lewis Hamilton for the first time since China. However, he passed the two Mercedes cars on an excellent opening lap.
Leclerc complained over the team radio that Hamilton was holding him up. Ferrari duly swapped positions on the main straight.
The Monegasque was on course to finish fourth behind the dominant McLaren cars and Max Verstappen, but a late safety car played into his hands.
With Verstappen furious that Red Bull had put him on hard tyres, Leclerc powered past at the restart. He’s now scored 94 of Ferrari’s 165 points this season, comfortably outperforming the most successful F1 driver ever.
Ralf Schumacher says Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen didn’t set a good example in Spain
Verstappen, struggling to warm up his tyres, just about saved a massive slide on the exit of the final corner. That opened the door for Leclerc.
The long-time rivals made contact on the straight as the Ferrari made the move. While only a slight touch, it could easily have put both drivers out of the race given the speeds involved.
While Verstappen accused Leclerc of ‘ramming’ him over the radio, the stewards deemed it a racing incident. Sky Germany pundit Ralf Schumacher shared that view.
But Schumacher also said the two drivers, who have scored 161 podiums combined, should have set a better example for the youngsters watching.
“Both are driving very centrally [on the straight],” he said. “I would classify this as a racing incident and not issue a penalty.
“Nevertheless, it’s extremely dangerous at such speeds. This doesn’t have to happen and is not a good sign for the young drivers.”
Helmut Marko’s damning Charles Leclerc verdict after Spanish Grand Prix incident
While he acknowledged it wasn’t a deliberate move, Peter Windsor called Leclerc’s driving ‘inexcusable’. He says Verstappen stayed perfectly straight before he was hit.
What’s more, Red Bull motorsports advisor Helmut Marko accused Leclerc of ‘driving into’ Verstappen. He’s now just 43 points behind the Dutchman in the standings.
This is after Verstappen collided with George Russell following an instruction from the pit wall to let the Mercedes through. He received a 10-second penalty amid calls for a harsher sanction.
Addressing his near-miss with the world champion, Leclerc said he just wanted a slipstream from Verstappen before capitalising on his error. In his eyes, ‘it all worked out well’.
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