Australian Grand Prix – French speakers’ assessment: Charles Leclerc
Unquestionable winner of the Australian Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc takes off at the top of the championship. The Monegasque had a perfect weekend and achieves a hat trick.
The boss, that’s him.
After his second pole position of the season, Charles Leclerc emerged as the favorite for the Grand Prix on Sunday morning. He did not disappoint. Making a good start, the Monegasque driver maintained his position during the first two laps, before his teammate Carlos Sainz caused a safety car by getting stuck in the gravel trap.
At the resumption of the race, Leclerc maintains his advantage and quickly widens the gap with Max Verstappen. The Dutchman is relegated to over 9 seconds behind when he makes a pit stop. The Ferrari stops a few laps later and comes out in front of George Russell’s Mercedes, with Verstappen only four seconds behind, but Sebastian Vettel triggers a second safety car.
Just a little mishap
At the moment of restarting the race, Leclerc misses a bit and Verstappen takes advantage to try to overtake him. The Monegasque resists and closes the door on the reigning world champion. A scare without consequences as Leclerc picks up his blistering pace again and takes off, leaving Verstappen behind. The Dutchman will be 7 seconds behind at the time of his retirement.
Freed from his main rival, Leclerc manages the end of the race with Sergio Perez behind him by more than 20 seconds at the finish line. The Monegasque, concerned about the fastest lap point, even allows himself to set the fastest time in the last lap, to further establish his dominance at the beginning of the season.
With these 26 additional points, Leclerc has a total of 71 points after three races. He is 34 points ahead of George Russell, who achieved his first podium of the season. It is a great way to complete a perfect weekend for the young Ferrari driver.
