Australian GP, ​​Leclerc applauds Sainz: “An exceptional race”

by VALERIO BARRETTA

Leclerc honors Sainz

Charles Leclerc He's a team player, both on the track and on the microphone. When the team asked him to freeze the positions in the Australian GP, ​​with a one-two in sight, the Monegasque didn't say a word. And even in interviews the #16 paid tribute to the performance of his teammate, who started the season better, he wants to prove to Ferrari that they were wrong to leave him to hire Lewis Hamilton and now he has already achieved his first victory of the season.

Leclerc's words

“The feeling didn't return exactly like it did on Friday when I was very comfortable with the car“, this is his comment to Sky Sports F1. “The stint in which we struggled was the first on the hard tires and with the Safety Car which caused me some graining, and from there I was unable to recover the tyre. The third stint was good, but overall the race wasn't good enough to catch up on Carloswho had a race exceptional“.

“I would have struggled to reach Carlos, also because we had two different strategies, but you believe in it until the end. Even in the last stint I told myself I could do it, though Whether Carlos or I win is the same for the team and it's a great day, because a double is the best possible result. It's bad to say this on a day when we're all happy, but we have to keep our feet on the ground. we had a race in which we were very strong, but we must not forget that on lap 4 Max was no longer there, who is usually the point of reference in the race. However, we must be satisfied with what we have done and continue working. We know we are not yet at Red Bull's level in the race, but we also know that we are the team that has improved the most in the last six monthsand this gives me so much hope for the next few months“.

“We couldn't have done better for the team. I wasn't in great form yesterday or today, but with 2nd place and the fastest lap we got the points we wanted. Carlos did a great job and I'm happy for the team with this double: it's what we have to try to do until the end of the season. If we look at the first three races there wasn't one where we said 'We could have done better', because we maximized everything we had in the car, and we have to continue like this“, he concluded.