Red Bull’s chief advisor Helmut Marko thanked Charles Leclerc for his defensive work against McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at the Dutch GP, which prevented the latter’s charge up to the podium places.
Piastri started the race in P3, and with McLaren having the fastest car, Marko was wary of the Aussie catching Max Verstappen. Thankfully for Marko and Co., Leclerc, who had made up places from his sixth-place start, found himself ahead of Piastri when it mattered. The Melbourne-born driver couldn’t get the better of him and finished in P4, costing McLaren crucial points.
“We are very grateful to Leclerc for holding him off,” wrote Marko in his Speedweek column. “I’m not entirely sure why that was, because he was a second faster than Max before he met Leclerc and couldn’t get past.”
A strong drive with plenty of points.
We’ll come back stronger. #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/cx7WIihJx0
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) August 25, 2024
Verstappen started the race from P2 and took the lead away from Lando Norris on the first lap. However, the MCL38 was much faster than Verstappen’s RB20, and 16 laps later, Lando Norris passed him. The Bristol-born driver went on to win the race comfortably, finishing 22 seconds ahead of the Dutchman.
Had Piastri overtaken Verstappen, it would have cut down Norris and McLaren’s gap to Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship standings even further than it was after the Dutch GP. That’s where Leclerc came to Red Bull’s rescue.
Verstappen got second place and Sergio Perez came home to a respectful P6, earning Red Bull 26 points which wasn’t all that bad, compared to McLaren’s 38-point haul.
The surprise package of the weekend, however, was Ferrari, who left Zandvoort with just one point less than Red Bull.
How Leclerc got the podium
Piastri’s McLaren was only as fast as the car it was stuck behind—Leclerc’s SF24. At Zandvoort, the dirty air made it difficult for him to pass the Ferrari. This was evident as Mercedes’ George Russell, who had a strong start from P4, held both Piastri and Leclerc in the initial stages of the race.
To overtake Russell, Ferrari knew that an undercut would be the best solution. The Maranello-based outfit executed this strategy effectively, beating McLaren to the punch.
Ferrari reacted first and pit Leclerc for a fresh set of hard compound tires. McLaren chose the other option, asking Piastri to push as much as possible on the old rubber. Unfortunately for the latter, it did not work. He came out behind Russell after his stop.
Piastri was able to pass Russell eventually, but by then it was too late. He couldn’t overtake Leclerc, and the Monegasque earned his second consecutive podium finish, thanks to a bold strategy call by Ferrari.
