Leclerc Explains How He Tried To Help Perez In Race To Make Russell Lose Points
F1Monday, 27 November 2023 at 00:00
Updated at Monday, 27 November 2023 at 13:52
Charles Leclerc explained his tactics at the end of the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that almost helped Ferrari snatch second place in the Constructors' Championship.
Ferrari went into the last race of the season at Yas Marina Circuit with a 4-point gap separating the team from second place in the Constructors' Championship occupied by Mercedes.
Charles Leclerc made his only goal clear to everybody when he told the media ahead of the Grand Prix that the battle with Mercedes was all that mattered to him and he was prepared to do "absolutely everything."
The race evolved in a way that Leclerc was in second place two laps before the end of the race, followed by Sergio Perez, who was closely followed by George Russell.
The Monegasque F1 driver needed to finish two positions ahead of the Mercedes driver, but it was tricky because Perez had a five-second penalty, so he needed to finish at least five seconds ahead of Russell.
Leclerc ended up helping Perez by trying to give him a tow and DRS so he would create a gap to Russell. The 26-year-old explained after the race:
"It was only in the last few minutes because Checo had a five-second time penalty. So we had to help him in a way for him to finish in front of George by five seconds. I tried to give him the DRS and the slipstream. But that unfortunately wasn't enough."
In the end, Perez crossed the line only 3,8 seconds ahead of Russell, which was not what Leclerc needed and hoped for. Leclerc said he could not have done anything better.
"On one hand, I'm really happy because at a weekend like this, honestly, there wasn’t one thing we could have done better as a team. I think it was definitely not a given that we were in the second-fastest car this weekend."
While the Ferrari driver and his team did everything in their power, it was just not enough to catch Mercedes. Therefore, the Italian team finished the season in P3. Leclerc sadly concluded:
"But we did an incredible job doing everything right, strategy, qualifying. It’s just a shame that we finished third in the Constructors', that’s all that matters to me at the end of the season, and we didn't achieve that."
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