Second in the Sprint at Zandvoort, Charles Leclerc took advantage of an electric deployment deficit from Lando Norris to make a decisive attack.
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Charles Leclerc perfectly exploited the final laps of the Sprint at the Dutch Grand Prix to claim second place. Long established behind George Russell and Lando Norris, the Ferrari driver finally found an opening on the Briton thanks to a strong attack at the braking of the first corner.
Starting third, Leclerc had made a strategic choice different from almost all his rivals by starting on soft tires. Only Oliver Bearman had also opted for this compound. A gamble that seemed mainly intended to offer him an opportunity at the start, but which ultimately proved decisive much later in the race.
Once Norris was overtaken, Leclerc tried to catch up to Russell. The Mercedes driver however had a sufficient lead to control the situation, with the Monegasque finishing finally less than two seconds behind the winner.
Leclerc had identified Norris’s weakness
The decisive overtake came when Leclerc noticed that Norris no longer had optimal electric deployment on the main straight. A weakness that the Ferrari driver knew he could exploit.
“I knew that Lando didn’t have much deployment on the main straight, so I knew I had to take full advantage of it” explained Leclerc.
Despite this advantage, the two cars arrived almost side by side in the braking zone of the first corner. Leclerc then delayed his braking to take the inside line and seize second position.
“We still arrived at the braking point more or less at the same level, but it worked”, he added.
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An overtake all the more satisfying as Norris had shown solid pace since the start of the weekend and had started from the front row.
The soft tire gamble ultimately rewarded
Leclerc mainly admits to being surprised by the longevity of his tires. Before the start, he had imagined rather benefiting from the soft tires in the first meters before having to manage their degradation against drivers equipped with mediums.
“I didn’t expect to gain a position at the end of the race with the softs. If I thought I could gain one, it was rather at the start, but I didn’t get a good launch.”
Despite the questions surrounding this strategy, the tires ultimately lasted long enough to allow the Monegasque to attack Norris in the final laps.
“When you are the only one doing something, either you are totally right, or totally wrong”, Leclerc smiled. “I think it was ultimately a good choice. It means we did our homework well during the free practice.”
This second place in any case confirms Ferrari’s promising pace at Zandvoort. After finishing only 0.055 seconds off the pole in the Sprint qualifying, Leclerc also showed that the SF-26 had race pace capable of putting pressure on Mercedes and McLaren.
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