Charles Leclerc took second place in the Dutch Grand Prix Sprint Race after a late move on Lando Norris, and explained how it might have come about.
The Ferrari driver pinpointed the McLaren’s lack of energy deployment as the key to making his decisive overtake on Norris on Lap 18 of the Sprint.
Starting from third on the grid, Leclerc held position behind Norris for most of the race before diving down the inside in Turn 1 to grab a second place finish. Pole-sitter George Russell was too far ahead for Leclerc to challenge for the win, but he finished within two seconds of the Mercedes.
Speaking in Parc Ferme after the race, Leclerc highlighted deployment as a weakness for Norris.
“I knew Lando didn’t have much deployment on the main straight, so I knew I had to maximise that. But we still arrived at the braking point more or less at the same level, and it worked out.”
Tyre strategy ‘either very right or very wrong’
Leclerc was one of just two drivers who started the Sprint on soft tyres, with the rest of the grid opting for the medium compound. He stated his surprise at the soft tyres holding up to the end and allowing him to make the bold overtake, as the advantage of starting on softs is expected to be at the beginning of the race.
“I did not expect to gain a position at the end of the race with the softs; if anything, it was at the start, but I didn’t have a good start.
“Always, when you are the only one doing something, it’s either very right or very wrong. I think it was a good choice in the end. It means we did our homework well in FP1.”
Haas’ Oliver Bearman, the other driver to start on the soft tyre, was able to make up two places over the Sprint Race distance, ultimately finishing in P15.
READ MORE – George Russell ‘pulled it off when it mattered’ to secure Dutch GP Sprint Pole
Discussion about this post