Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc came so close to win his first British Grand Prix at Silverstone. He inherited the lead from Verstappen after the Red Bull driver collided with Lewis Hamilton, and held on to it till the very end.
Unfortunately, the Ferrari driver could not fend off Lewis as the seven-time world champion overtook him with two laps to go. The disappointment on Leclerc’s face as he clinched his first podium of the season was quite evident, and he later described the situation as bittersweet himself.
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I think people are enjoying it this year: Charles Leclerc
While Leclerc acknowledges that fans are exciting to see a fierce battle between two teams for the title, he wants Ferrari to be a part of that fight as well. The Monegasque got a taste of that fight in Silverstone, and he wants to get back to the front of the grid again.
“I’m not frustrated, but I want to be back in the fight with the top guys [Mercedes / Red Bull]. So there’s a lot of motivation for the entire team because we don’t want Ferrari to be fighting for fifth or sixth place,” said Leclerc.
“But on the other hand, it’s very good to finally see a fight between two teams for a world title. I think people are enjoying it this year,” said Charles.
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Ferrari can’t expect to fight Mercedes at other 2021 F1 races
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As reported by Autosport, Charles opined that even though Ferrari were competitive in Silverstone, it would be hard for them to fight for wins at other circuits.
“Going into the weekend, there was absolutely no hope of fighting for a win here in Silverstone. This shows how great a job we are doing as a team. It’s not an easy situation, but the team is working extremely well,” said Leclerc.
“Now we need to keep on working because that’s what we want to do consistently: fight for the win. It’s great to be fighting today with Lewis, but we shouldn’t expect to be in that position for the rest of the year. For that, we need to keep working.”
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It was a breathtaking moment for Ferrari and Tifosi alike to see Leclerc lead the grid at the British Grand Prix, and safe to say, they only want more of that. Do you think the red team will be able to repeat their Silverstone feat this year?