Mexican Grand Prix: Charles Leclerc, « The best possible result on my side »

Charles Leclerc completed a one-two for Ferrari at the Mexican Grand Prix, finishing third behind his teammate Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris’s McLaren.

Starting from the second row in fourth position, Leclerc found himself in the lead trio after the incidents of the first lap that saw Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon retire from the race. The Ferrari driver then took advantage of the penalties imposed on Max Verstappen for pushing Norris off track at turn 4 and leaving the track and gaining an advantage at turn 8, to consolidate his position in the top 3.

In the final laps, Leclerc had to deal with increasing pressure from Lando Norris. Three laps from the finish, an error in the final corner allowed the McLaren driver to take the advantage for second place. Leclerc finally secured third position and claimed the point for the fastest lap in the race after a strategic pit stop on the final lap.

After the race, the Ferrari driver acknowledged that this result represented the best he could achieve this weekend. It was a tough race. The first stint involved trying to manage the temperatures, which was quite challenging, but we did the best race we could. Throughout the weekend, I was lagging behind and third place was the best result we could achieve from my side.

The Monegasque driver also underlined the importance of this result for his team in the constructors’ championship race. Regarding his teammate’s performance, he said, “[d] An incredible race from Carlos and it’s a good weekend overall for the team, which is positive,” adding, “[d] We are working very well as a team. It’s been several races now that we are performing at the level we should be. The constructors’ championship remains our goal and with weekends like this one, we are getting closer. I hope we can continue in this direction and secure the constructors’ championship.”

With four races to go, Ferrari is continuing its momentum. The team has been achieving good results lately. Their victory at the Mexican Grand Prix notably follows a double win in the United States where Leclerc and Sainz finished first and second respectively. These performances confirm the good form of the Scuderia and allow them to surpass Red Bull and take the second place in the constructor’s championship. The Italian team is now only 29 points behind McLaren.