Second in the Chinese Grand Prix sprint, Charles Leclerc came very close to disaster during the final restart. The Ferrari driver experienced a moment of intense fear, nearly losing control of his car.
Read more Max Verstappen stunned after Red Bull’s chaotic sprint
Starting only sixth on the grid after rather disappointing sprint qualifying, Charles Leclerc managed to turn the situation around during the short race held at the Shanghai circuit. The Monegasque driver quickly showed his incisiveness in the pack to move up towards the front.
At the start, both Ferraris made a particularly effective getaway. Lewis Hamilton even took the lead in the opening laps, leaving Leclerc in his wake. But this internal hierarchy did not last very long, notably due to tire management.
Engaged in an intense duel with George Russell at the front of the race, Hamilton gradually wore out his tires. Leclerc then took advantage of this situation to regain the upper hand and move into second place behind the Mercedes. At that point, the objective was clear: try to close the gap to the leader.
The safety car completely restarts the race
For much of the sprint, however, Russell seemed out of reach. The Briton had built a comfortable lead of about ten seconds over the Ferraris, controlling the race perfectly.
But the scenario changed abruptly when a car stopped on track. Nico Hülkenberg’s car stopped at the first corner after a technical problem, triggering the safety car. This neutralization reshuffled the deck.
The lead drivers immediately dived into the pit lane to fit new soft tires. With a bunched-up field and only a few laps remaining, the opportunity seemed ideal to attempt a decisive attack on Russell.
Leclerc was particularly confident about going for the win during this restart.
“A very scary moment” for Leclerc
When the safety car pulled in with three laps to go, George Russell quickly got back on the gas to control the restart. But behind him, Charles Leclerc experienced an extremely delicate moment at the wheel of his Ferrari.
The Monegasque driver said after the race: “It was a very scary moment. I thought it was over.”
Read more Isack Hadjar sets Antonelli straight: «He is overexcited when he has a rocket»
Observing a slight snap from the Mercedes in front of him, Leclerc thought he could seize an opportunity: “I saw George have a snap and I thought it was an opportunity for me to be very close at the restart and, hopefully, take the lead.”
“I was quite confident I had rear grip, but when I got on the gas, I completely lost the car, ten times more than the snap George had in front of me.”
Leclerc admitted he was very close to losing control for good: “Yes, it’s those kinds of snaps where you don’t want them to get worse, otherwise you can’t catch them.”
An encouraging podium for Ferrari
Fortunately for him, the Ferrari driver managed to catch his car in a critical situation: “I was in a full lock and fortunately, I managed to recover it.”
“Then, the same thing happened in the last corner. George lost a bit of grip again and I thought there was another opportunity, but I had exactly the same problem.”
According to him, grip was particularly low right after the neutralization: “There was really very little grip in those first two corners after the safety car.”
Despite this big scare, Charles Leclerc ultimately held onto his second place behind George Russell. A result that confirms Ferrari’s progress in race pace, even if victory remains the priority objective for the Scuderia.
The Monegasque is also optimistic: “The result isn’t really what I’m looking at, because second is still second and we want to be on the top step of the podium.”
But he mainly remembers the positive feelings at the wheel of the SF-26: “The general feeling with the car was very positive.” An encouraging base for the rest of the weekend at the Shanghai circuit.
Read more Nico Hülkenberg on the doorstep of SQ3, seeking revenge after Australia