Will Leclerc And Verstappen Collide? Leclerc Reveals His Plan To 'Block' Verstappen

Sunday, 05 November 2023 at 05:00

Updated at Sunday, 05 November 2023 at 14:30

Scuderia Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc revealed what he expects from the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix race on Sunday at Interlagos Circuit.

The Friday qualifying session was greatly influenced by extreme weather conditions. Best being able to deal with a cooling slippery track was Max Verstappen, but Charles Leclerc finished in second place.

The Monegasque driver added another great qualifying result to his collection after two consecutive pole positions during the United States Grand Prix and Mexico City Grand Prix. However, Leclerc told the media his lap did not feel good at all:

"It felt so bad that I was like, ‘Okay, this is not good enough, I’m P10 for sure’. But luckily, I wasn’t and second place is good."

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The Ferrari driver holds a record for most pole positions not turned into a race win. That's mainly because Ferrari suffers in a race pace compared to Red Bull and Max Verstappen, who then usually overtakes Leclerc during the race.

Asked about the race pace of his Ferrari and whether he thinks he can keep up with the Flying Dutchman on Red Bull, Leclerc responded:

"The feeling was okay, whether this will be enough to challenge the Red Bull I think, is a bit of another story because this year, unfortunately, they are very, very, very strong and much stronger than us coming the Sunday."

The 26-year-old expects not to be as fast as the three-time World Champion. On the other hand, he suggested he will try to overtake Verstappen and then block him for all the laps if he can.

"So we’ve got a lot of work to do. Realistically, I will say, maybe not. But as always, if there’s the opportunity to pass at the start and then to block him[Max Versrtappen] for all the other laps, then I’ll take that."