Leclerc: Bahrain defeat 'hard to take'
- Published on 31 Mar 2019 20:08
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Having had the lead of the Bahrain Grand Prix snatched away from him in the final laps due to engine trouble, Charles Leclerc admits the loss is 'hard to take'.
Leclerc was driving a strong race up to that point, boasting a 10 second lead to Lewis Hamilton behind following the last round of pit stops.
The Monegasque driver had recovered after he dropped to third on the first lap, getting overtaken by teammate Sebastian Vettel and the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas, before getting them both back in the following laps.
As he was on course for his maiden race win, he ended up crossing the line in third place as a late safety car prevented Max Verstappen from overtaking him for the final spot on the podium.
"It happens," Leclerc conceded. "It’s part of motorsport. Unfortunately today was not our day. I’m confident that the team has done an amazing job to recover from the lack of pace in Australia.
“Of course I’m extremely disappointed, like the whole team. But we’ve been very lucky in an unlucky situation because we had the safety car at the end otherwise we would’ve finished even more rearward and also I don’t think we would’ve been okay with the fuel.
“It's very hard to take, but thank you to the team for the amazing car all weekend long, and I’m pretty sure we’ll come back stronger.
“I didn’t do a very good start, but then we were very strong all race long. It’s a shame to only finish third. It’s part of racing, but we’ll come back stronger. Today, third wasn’t our place, but I’m happy anyway.”
Leclerc is now fourth in the drivers' world championship, four points ahead of Vettel.
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Replies (6)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
It was absolutely devastating. He had done so good up until that point, only for the PU to fail him. But on the bright side, he talks the talks and walks the walks. For real, this fella is slowly becoming my favourite driver, and I know Im not alone in that.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
I don't even feel that bad. He'll get many wins. He's beaten Seb fair and square two weekends in a row. I am massively excited to see him fight for the championship this year. Vettel has been fading in slow motion for the last 6-8 months
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I agree, but nevertheless it sucked. It was a win that literally had his name on it, and it wasn't even a driver error or incident, but a blown engine. I mean, good, he still got the podium, but still. Hope this will only make his blood boil even more for that first win. And Ferrari better patch that issue they totally know nothing about.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
Its going to happen one day. Should take it as ‘character building’ if not exposed yet, to one.
boudy
Posts: 1,168
I wonder if his PU failure had anything to do with the oil limits that are imposed this year. What's really weird difference in tyre switch on depending on the track. The Ferrari's looked great and it should have been an 1-2 but once again they ran into gremlins.
Charles looked very good and brought it home.
s_ya
Posts: 21
It is a pity, if only, despite the problems, Ferrari and were further faster ... Increasing power? Or is it just a defective part?