Charles Leclerc looks back on an exciting but fun Grand Prix in China. The Ferrari driver finished just off the podium, in fourth place. After several battles with teammate Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes cars, he is satisfied with this result. “It was just a cool race,” said Leclerc.
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Charles Leclerc just missed the podium after battles with Lewis Hamilton. The teammates fought hard against each other and were both eager for a spot on the podium. In the end, the seven-time world champion was faster. “At the end of the day, Lewis was just stronger. I am happy that he finally made it to the podium,” Leclerc said in the paddock in Shanghai.
‘Enjoyed it’
Leclerc is happy with the result, as he emphasized that the new cars are secretly quite fun to drive. “These cars are really fun to drive in a race. You can play with the battery and the energy management is tactically interesting. That is actually quite fun. I enjoyed it,” said the Ferrari driver.
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According to Leclerc, the battles between the teammates were fair. Still, there was a small touch, ‘a kiss’, as Hamilton described it in the paddock. “It was a hard but fair fight,” said Leclerc. “That was really cool. It was good tactical thinking. Especially in the fight over who could overtake in the last corner, where we both braked early and had to pay close attention to the energy,” the Monegasque indicated. Although Leclerc just missed the podium, he is happy for Hamilton. “I am happy for Lewis and he deserves it too, more than I do. He has been better all weekend.”
‘Gap to Mercedes’
At the same time, the 28-year-old is still looking at a gap to the Mercedes cars. “The only negative is the gap to Mercedes. On a day like this, you see that Mercedes has developed the car well, so we must keep working hard.” But that didn’t mean he didn’t congratulate winner Kimi Antonelli. “A first victory is always special and he is also so young. Such raw emotions are always touching to see. He was strong all weekend and deserves this victory. So congratulations to him,” Leclerc concluded.
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