Sauber's Charles Leclerc has hailed an 'incredible' first points finish after putting on a stunning performance in an eventful Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
His weekend got off to a flying start after managing to out-qualify his far more experienced team-mate Marcus Ericsson by 1.8secs in the first part of qualifying, then on Sunday, he continued in the same vein.
Leclerc quickly moved into the top 10 and passed Lance Stroll, before profiting when both Red Bulls and Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas retired to take sixth place, and with it his maiden points in Formula 1.
"It was an amazing race," said Leclerc. "I am very happy with my result. It was definitely eventful, with many incidents on track making it especially challenging and fun to drive.
"I felt comfortable in the car and did my best to gradually advance to the front of the midfield through the race.
"It is an incredible feeling to score points for the first time in Formula 1. As a team, we can see our potential, and know what our strengths are. I am very pleased, and look forward to continuing on this positive path."
Throughout the race, the 20-year old was able to maintain a good pace with vastly more competitive cars around him and make his way through the field passing many drivers, including double-world champion Fernando Alonso with relative ease.
However, he did admit to struggling with fuel management towards the end of the race.
"The emotions are difficult to describe, he told F1's Paddock Pass. "It feels a lot better than anything I've experienced before. The track is a city track and I love city tracks in general, but we had an amazing pace.
"On the Supersofts we were very quick, I mean Ferrari and Red Bull were struggling to pull away, so we were very quick.
"I know on low-fuel at the end we were struggling more, but P6 at the end so I'm not going to complain."
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