Australia – Francophone Overview: Leclerc Holds His Position, Disappointment for Gasly and Grosjean

Charles Leclerc: 5th (5th on the grid)

The Monegasque driver was the best French-speaking performer this weekend. In qualifying, Leclerc was disappointed with his fifth place, deemed insufficient. His race wasn’t dishonorable, but lacked brilliance.

The hope of the Scuderia first returned in the opening meters, a start marked by a small off-track excursion, with Vettel on the inside of the first turn. “My start was good. Sebastian probably didn’t see me, I had to go onto the grass to avoid him.”

Leclerc ran for a long time in no man’s land, unable to catch up with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull Honda. He then delayed his tire change, finally executed on the 28th lap. Coming out in 5th place, he held onto that position until the finish. « It wasn’t an exceptional race on our part; we expected better » confirms the one who also calls for interpreting the results of this race with caution.

« Albert Park is a really strange track, we must not panic. Mercedes has been very strong, but we are closer to them than what we showed in the race. »

The former Sauber driver was less talkative about the end of the race: as he closed in on Vettel’s mirrors, his progress was halted by his race engineer, who instructed him via radio to stay behind the German driver. Leclerc simply confirmed that he had to “maintain his position until the finish.” This fifth place is still his best career result, but naturally, this performance will evolve throughout the season.

Pierre Gasly: 11th (17th on the grid)

A very complicated start for the young French driver’s debut with Red Bull Racing. Trapped in qualifying, the Norman was prematurely eliminated in Q1. He could then only climb back up on a track where overtaking is a real challenge.

He will show opportunism at the start of the race, slowly beginning his climb. He will then encounter a hurdle named Daniil Kvyat. The Toro Rosso benefited from slipstream and its high top speed to stay ahead of Gasly, who ultimately falls two-tenths short of the points.

The new Red Bull driver finally arrived without regrets in front of the journalists. Starting seventeenth, we knew it would be complicated. All race long, I was 0.5 seconds behind the car in front (note: Kvyat’s Toro Rosso) but even with the DRS it was very, very hard to catch up on the straights to overtake. I tried a few times without success. Frustrating nonetheless because Gasly was this close to coming out of the pits ahead of Kvyat. My tires were too cold. If I had braked later, we would have collided!

It’s certain that the outcome is disappointing. But we must stay positive. Overall, the performance was there, as we saw during Free Practice.

Romain Grosjean: Retirement (6th on the grid)

6 retirements in eight races in Melbourne! Since 2012, the Haas driver has been cursed on Australian soil. After securing a fantastic sixth place in qualifying, Grosjean was on track to score big points. Losing a place at the start to his teammate, the driver with the number 8 was driving closely behind his teammate until this problem occurred during his pit stop on the 16th lap, that poorly attached front-left wheel, the same as in 2018!

This interminable tire change pushed him out of the points, before a retirement ended his suffering on the 29th lap.

« I think Australia doesn’t like me. Yet I love this track and the atmosphere here. » confided the main party, somewhat annoyed. It’s a shame, because for him, “the car was fast.”

The stop was too long, and it broke something on my car, added the Frenchman, without being more specific. A faulty suspension is probably the reason for his retirement, but the replay mainly shows a front-left wheel on the verge of coming off. Grosjean thus deflected the issue’s source, a way to protect his team, which risks a fine.