F1 | Leclerc: “Great double, it gives me hope”

Ferrari leaves Australia with a one-two that brings back sweet memories. Although the result was facilitated by the retirement of Max Verstappen due to a problem with the right rear brake, which was blocked until he was forced to park his burning car in the pits, on the other hand the Red Team was ready, realizing a potential that could already be appreciated on Friday.

The last one-two totally dyed in red came about two years ago, in the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix, when however Leclerc took the victory. Clearly the current sensations and scenarios are completely different from those of two seasons ago, but the satisfaction of having completed a convincing weekend from a performance point of view remains.

A double that gives morale to the entire team. “It's a positive result, especially for the team. First and second across the finish line, it was something that hadn't happened since the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix, which brings back fond memories. It's fantastic to have managed to achieve this result again”, explained Leclerc at the end of the race, before praising the work of Sainz, who was able to achieve the result both in qualifying and in the race.

However, on the other hand the Monegasque ended the weekend with some regrets. The mistakes made in qualifying, where he had the potential to aim for the front row, then compromised the race as in a cascade sequence.

“Carlos had a fantastic weekend after coming back from surgery, he had a great race. For my part, I struggled a little more in the first part of the second stint, I didn't manage the tires well. But then, the last stint was positive. The one-two is the best we could do,” added the Ferrarista.

After maintaining fourth place when the lights went out, the first stint wasn't the easiest for the Monegasque, as he remained stuck behind Norris for a long time. Although he seemed to have a potentially faster pace than the Briton, Leclerc was unable to find a space in which to slip into to attempt the attack, thus pushing the team to also evaluate different options from a strategic point of view.

It was therefore decided to follow an approach opposite to that of Norris. If the McLaren driver had returned to the pits, Leclerc would have remained on the track to extend in order to create a rubber delta, while if the Woking team had decided to leave the Englishman on the track, then Ferrari would have recalled Leclerc for the his first stop.

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

With McLaren ultimately choosing to continue, the Cavallino strategists attempted their move, calling Leclerc back early, although this later forced him to re-enter traffic. To complete the overtaking and undercut on Norris, at that stage the Monegasque was forced to put significant pressure on his tyres, with a negative impact on the life of the tire itself which was evident over the long distance.

It is no coincidence, in fact, that on several occasions the team urged him to manage the covers in the fastest corners, especially turns six, ten and twelve, in order to protect both the front and the left rear. The excessive degradation then forced him to also bring forward the second stop, as suggested over the radio by Leclerc himself, but the different race situation allowed him to approach the final stint in a different way. Having some margin at his disposal, the Monegasque was able to manage that phase known as the “introduction” of the tires in a more serene and prudent manner. However, at that point the gap to Sainz was already too wide to think of being able to get closer in a significant way and attempt an attack on his teammate.

“I honestly don't think it was possible to attack Carlos, because in the first stint we had to protect ourselves from behind and we stopped a little early and from that moment on Carlos proved to be really fast, while I was struggling with the tyres. I think the moment we stopped for the first rest stop, it became clear to me [che non avrei vinto]. But Carlos did a better job, both in qualifying and in the race, he deserves this victory. I'm happy for him and for the team, we brought home important points”, added Leclerc.

“The feeling didn't return exactly like it did on Friday, where I was very comfortable. The Safety Car caused me some graining and I never recovered from there. Overall, the race wasn't good enough to be able to attack Carlos. I wasn't concrete enough yesterday and today, but we are first and second, I'm happy for the team. That's what we need to do over the course of this season, maximize the potential of the car. We got here at the start of this weekend thinking that we had to maximize and bring home as many points as possible and no one did better than us, so I'm happy.”

Leclerc however urged us to keep a low profile, because today Verstappen's retirement has changed the scenarios, but the growth path conveys a feeling of confidence. “Today we are all very happy, but we need to keep our feet on the ground. We had a very positive race, in which we were fast, but today there was no Verstappen, who is the reference in the race. But we must be satisfied with the work done. We know that we are not yet at the level of Red Bull in the race, but we know that we are also the team that has improved the most in the last six months and this gives me a lot of hope for the future.”