Leclerc Describes How He Took Opportunity Of Perez's 'Small Mistake'

Wednesday, 22 November 2023 at 04:00

Updated at Wednesday, 22 November 2023 at 16:23

Charles Leclerc described his overtake on Sergio Perez on the final lap of the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Strip Circuit.

Scuderia Ferrari F1 driver found himself in an unusual position this season when he got into the lead of the race by overtaking Red Bull's Max Verstappen on lap 16.

The Monegasque driver would later be at a disadvantage after safety car deployment allowed two Red Bull drivers behind him to change their tires.

Verstappen made the most out of the five laps with fresher hard compound tires after the race restarted and made his way back into the lead of the race, which he kept firmly in his hands until the checkered flag.

The second Red Bull driver Sergio Perez also got in front of Leclerc, but could not totally escape the Ferrari driver. Leclerc held on to Perez with hopes of making a move on the final lap of the race.

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And just as Leclerc hoped, the opportunity showed itself in the turn 14 of the final lap when Perez left the doors open for him by not going defensive.

Leclerc sent it down the inside from far away to perform an astonishing overtake that would grant him second place at the finish line. The 26-year-old told the media:

"Once I went for it, I was pretty confident it would work out. It was basically the only opportunity I had, and it was the only place where you could really go for an overtake."

The Ferrari driver mentioned he saw Checo make a mistake in the same corner a few laps before, so he felt the Mexican driver would be more careful on the breaks.

"I also had in mind that Checo had made a small mistake four or five laps before, so I knew he was being a little bit cautious on braking."

It was not as simple as it seemed on the TV. Leclerc strategically recharged his batteries over the course of two laps in order to have them ready for one last overtake attempt on the final lap. Leclerc added:

"On the second to last lap, I started to recharge the batteries in order to get ready for that last lap, and it worked out. It was obviously very, very tight but I was really happy and really enjoyed the fight."