Charles Leclerc has revealed that he was not informed about Sebastian Vettel’s five-second time penalty until after the Canadian Grand Prix.
Leclerc held a lonely third for most of the 70-lap encounter but gradually reeled in the leaders through the closing stages, having made his sole stop comparatively late.
Leader Vettel sustained a five-second time penalty after he was judged to have re-joined the track unsafely and forced Lewis Hamilton to take evasive action in the wake of going wide at Turn 4.
Canadian GP: Drivers' Standings | Constructors' Standings | Race Result
Leclerc crossed the line and, time adjusted, was classified just a second behind Vettel.
But he revealed that his late surge in pace was not down to trying to overhaul Vettel.
“I was not aware at all, no, I pushed but I didn’t know what was going on in front,” said Leclerc.
“I didn’t know Seb had a penalty, I was pushing to be there if there was an opportunity but I was not aware about the five second penalty, I was doing my own race.”
Leclerc also revealed that Ferrari had asked him to pit late on in an attempt to obtain the fastest lap, and the additional point, but he requested to stay out in case an opportunity arose.
“The start was tricky with Lewis but I decided not to take any risks,” he said.
“Then it was quite a boring race, trying to manage the tyres in the first eight or nine laps, then when I started to push I could feel we were quite good.
“And on the second stint again the car felt great, we were very quick, I was catching a bit in front, the team asked me to pit to do the fastest lap which I asked to continue because I could see the gap was closing.
“I knew it could be quite difficult to catch them but if there was an opportunity I wanted to be there.”
