Charles Leclerc Didn’t Fight With Sergio Perez to Avoid Being Harmed By Ferrari Weakness

Tanish Chachra | 29/04/2023
Charles Leclerc Didn't Fight With Sergio Perez to Avoid Being Harmed By Ferrari Weakness

Charles Leclerc showed enormous pace today but was beaten by Sergio Perez during the sprint race. After the latter’s overtake, the Monegasque wasn’t far behind his opponent. However, he didn’t choose to be similarly aggressive to him.

According to Leclerc, a major weakness in his car didn’t allow him to redeem his position back. Instead, he opted to play safe, finish in P2, and return the car safely after 17 laps.

“I didn’t fight Checo too much because I wanted to try to keep my tires as I knew this was our weakness,” said Leclerc. “I tried to stay within the DRS of Checo so he could pull me on the straight, but that wasn’t enough.

Charles Leclerc set for yet another top start

Leclerc has been the star of the show in Azerbaijan. He has been the fastest in both qualifyings and even for the main race. He will start from the pole position and seems to have a fast straight-line speed.

But Red Bull is still faster, as apparent with Perez’s speed. Also, Max Verstappen seemed to be catching Lecerc, but the damage he took from George Russell slowed him down by almost eight-tenths of a second.

But with the above remarks by Leclerc, it could also mean that Ferrari could be hiding something for Sunday since they already have the right cars. In short, it could be an intense competition between the two sides.

Aiming for the first win

Leclerc had a poor start to the season when he only secured six points in the first three races. But now, with continuous strong performances over the last two days, he would definitely aim to end it with a win.

This year so far, only Red Bull drivers have managed to win races. With Leclerc squashing that streak, it could very well open the scope of Ferrari challenging Red Bull’s dominance.

Azerbaijan has never seen a repeated winner ever since its F1 debut. But tomorrow, Leclerc, Verstappen, and Perez, who all have won in Baku before, are leading the contention to win on Sunday. So, the curse will be finally lifted.

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
Charles Leclerc ferrari Red Bul Sergio Perez

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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