Charles Leclerc Pinpoints the Moment When He Realized He Lost the Azerbaijan GP

Charles Leclerc Pinpoints the Moment When He Realized He Lost the Azerbaijan GP

For the fourth consecutive year, Charles Leclerc missed out on victory at the Azerbaijan GP despite starting from pole position. Oscar Piastri made a bold move on the Monegasque driver, and after the race, Leclerc pinpointed where he lost his edge.

Speaking to Guenther Steiner, a dejected Leclerc admitted that his choice of tires was wrong. “Probably when I went on the hard. On the hard tires, the car didn’t feel as good. We were sliding a lot, and I had no rear grip,” the Ferrari star said.

Additionally, Leclerc experienced more tire degradation than Piastri, which prevented him from pushing his car as hard as he wanted, allowing the Aussie to maintain his lead when it mattered most.

Piastri, who started from P2, chased Leclerc for nearly 30 laps before making an ambitious move down the inside to take first place away. From there, it was all about holding on to the lead.

Piastri masterclass and a nervy finish for Leclerc

With all of McLaren‘s hopes riding on his shoulders, Piastri showed no signs of pressure. The Melbourne-born made a daring lunge on the inside of Leclerc on Lap 20, coming out of Turn 1 with the race lead. He then deployed a defensive masterclass to make sure Leclerc stayed in his rearview mirror for the remainder of the race.

Meanwhile, in the final few laps of the race, Leclerc had to shift his focus to defending Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. Having lost out on the lead to Piastri, there was no way Leclerc was going to let Perez snatch P2 away and his defense was on top.

Carlos Sainz then joined the party, snatching P3 away from Perez and was right on Leclerc’s tail. However, they crashed soon, bringing an end to their race. With a Virtual Safety Car deployed thereafter, Piastri comfortably won the Azerbaijan GP, while Leclerc settled for P2.

Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
Charles Leclerc Oscar Piastri

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Naman Gopal Srivastava

Naman is an F1 writer at The SportsRush. Initially a football fanatic who worships Puyol and Leo Messi, Naman soon fell in love with the world of F1 upon reading about Jim Clarke. While the current era drivers do fascinate him, Naman still chooses to idolize Clarke and Ayrton Senna. When he is not busy watching the highlights of some of the greatest races of his idols, Naman can be found scribbling little snippets in his diary of poems or out in the town, exploring new places to eat.

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