Charles Leclerc was one of the favorites at the 2024 Las Vegas GP, as Ferrari were widely tipped to do well in Sin City based on last year’s race. The Monegasque was in contention for the win early on, but he feels he “paid the price” by overusing the tires in pursuit of race leader George Russell in the first stint.
“I was pretty confident that we had a good car on the tires and a nicer car than them, but actually I think I overdid it a little bit,” the #16 driver said. “So then I paid a price in the first stint. Second and third stints we were really fast, but that wasn’t enough”.
Sky F1 – Was there any more opportunity today? Maybe if you hadn’t pushed quite so hard behind George at the start, or was that always worth the chance?
Charles Leclerc: I was pretty confident that we had a good car on the tyres, and a nicer car than them, but actually I…
1/2
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) November 24, 2024
Leclerc’s race start was quite a contrast to last year’s inaugural event in Vegas, when he lost places from pole. The 27-year-old gained two positions from P4 to undo the damage of his underwhelming qualifying. After getting past his teammate Carlos Sainz, and Pierre Gasly’s Alpine, Leclerc was in a great position to challenge Russell for the lead.
It seemed like he could pressurize the Mercedes man and pull off an overtake, but it wasn’t to be for the Monegasque. Leclerc admitted after the race that he should have shown more composure to play the long game rather than going on the attack so early.
His approach wasn’t wrong, as he did not wish to sit back and miss out on the opportunity to go for the win. But the tire degradation around the Vegas track was higher than expected which tipped the race towards being a two-stopper for all drivers.
Leclerc eventually had to settle for a P4 finish, while his teammate Sainz got the final podium place behind Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who had a stellar recovery race from 10th on the grid. Naturally, the #16 driver was frustrated as his race ended in the same spot he started despite having the potential for a better result.
Leclerc’s battle with Sainz worsened things
After Leclerc dropped back with tire degradation kicking in and forcing him to stop early, he was keen on regaining places to get back in the fight for a top-three finish. But Sainz was also aiming for the same and they battled with each other, which perhaps compromised both of their races.
Ferrari were instructing the Spaniard to not overtake Leclerc as they wanted to play the team game and avoid Hamilton getting through to maximize their points haul. However, Sainz still overtook the Monegasque, which then did not help them later when the second round of pit stops came around.
Sainz was struggling with his tires in the second stint, and Hamilton was right behind the two Ferraris. This created a kerfuffle between the three drivers with both Leclerc and Sainz struggling with tire grip.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is Ferrari.
Ricky: Pit confirmed and Box. STAY OUT STAY OUT!
Carlos: What happened?
Ricky: We’re not ready.
Carlos: WAKE UP GUYS COME ON! pic.twitter.com/wuhmLpgshh
— WIO (@sainznificant) November 24, 2024
As the dust settled from this battle, Hamilton emerged as the winner to clear both Ferraris and charge towards P2. Eventually, Sainz also overtook Leclerc for the final podium spot, which was the last straw for the Monegasque. He vented out his frustration on the team radio, stating that him being “nice” and “respectful” often compromises his race.
Nevertheless, Leclerc and Sainz have had an excellent relationship as teammates and have gone through worse battles than this one in Vegas. With the Constructors’ title very much in sight, Ferrari would want them to unite and work toward reducing the 24-point deficit to McLaren and end their title drought.
