'Disappointed' Leclerc Content With Las Vegas Result Despite Not Winning: 'Best We Could Do'

Sunday, 19 November 2023 at 18:00

Charles Leclerc reacted to finishing the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Strip Circuit in second place.

Charles Leclerc started the inaugural race at the Las Vegas Strip circuit from pole position after dominating the qualifying session with his teammate Carlos Sainz.

While the Monegasque driver might have hoped to win the race before the start, he shared he was happy to finish in second place after the 50 laps of the Las Vegas Grand Prix:

“"What a race, honestly, I enjoyed it so much, and of course, I am disappointed to only finish second, but at the end, it was the best we could do."”

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The Ferrari driver got overtaken by Max Verstappen with a controversial move into turn one, for which the Dutchman took a 5-second penalty.

However, Leclerc then kept the pace with the three-time World Champion and overtook him back for the lead of the race.

“"At the start, it was very tricky because Max was on the inside with the grip, and I was on the outside, but then we had the pace and passed him back, and we were really strong overall."”

It seemed like Leclerc was on his way to winning the race, but his progress was ruined because of the safety car triggered by the collision between Verstappen and George Russell.

“"We got a bit unlucky with the Safety Car, we didn't pit because we didn't know what the others would do. We went for track position, and keeping first place with the older tires was difficult, but we got second place."”

The 26-year-old was in third place one lap before the end of the race, but performed an amazing overtake on Sergio Perez during the final lap to get the final second position. He concluded:

“"Of course, the weekend didn't start well, but I'm happy it ended that way. There was no better race for the first in Vegas - the energy around the city is incredible, and I'm really, really happy."”