Italian Grand Prix – Charles Leclerc « in the top 5 of my performances in Formula 1
After a confident race, the Monegasque driver finishes in the top 5 and can be satisfied with this Grand Prix.
Given the lack of top speed of his SF21 and suffering from nausea and headaches yesterday morning, Charles Leclerc had little hope for his team’s home Grand Prix. But it was not the case: he delivered a performance that he considers to be in the top 5 of my performances in Formula 1.
He carried out his first relay in the wake of the Norris-Hamilton duo, who were battling for 3rd place. Then, after the Hamilton-Verstappen collision, his pit stop under safety car conditions allowed him to find himself in second place and fight with the McLarens.
Alas, the lack of power from the Ferrari engine and the top speed of the McLaren-Mercedes prevented it from being able to defend its chances against Lando Norris as he overtook it right after the restart.
Even worse, he was successively overtaken by Sergio Perez’s Red Bull (the Mexican receiving a 5-second penalty for cutting the chicane while overtaking Leclerc without giving him back his position) and by Valtteri Bottas’s Mercedes.
But he made no mistakes and easily finished ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz, who had crashed during FP2 the day before. However, he remains mixed:
« It’s certain that when we see the two McLarens in the top two positions and being so close to the podium, it’s frustrating but that’s how it is. Today, I think we maximized the team’s results and that’s very good.
Charles Leclerc consolidates his 6th place in the drivers’ standings with 104 points.
