Second place for the Ferrari driver
Charles Leclerc finished the China GP Sprint in second position behind George Russell. The Ferrari driver tried to attack the Mercedes driver in the final stages during the restart, but lost the rear at the exit of the hairpin while trying to stay close to the Mercedes driver.
Read more Russell: “Hamilton caught me by surprise, Ferrari is very close to us on race pace”
“I thought it was my opportunity because I had seen Russell struggling to open the throttle, but I lost grip in turn. Fortunately I didn’t spin, then I also had a problem at the last corner”, Leclerc explained at the end of the race regarding what happened in that episode which could have cost the Ferrari driver dearly.
Leclerc quickly moved up to third position at the start and then observed the long duel between Russell and Hamilton in which the Ferrari Englishman asked a lot of his tires. Leclerc then went on the attack and did not expect such a strenuous defense from Hamilton, to the point that over the radio Leclerc told the pit wall: “But does Lewis know how wide these cars are? He didn’t give me space”.
How close was this! 🤯
Leclerc and Hamilton did not leave much margin between them in this battle 👀#F1Sprint #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/wl5KzEKEI9
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 14, 2026
The Sprint however certified that in terms of race pace Ferrari is closer to Mercedes compared to qualifying: “Mercedes remains the favorite, but our car is strong in the race – Leclerc added – I felt very good in the car, unfortunately we lost some time battling for second place and this allowed Russell to escape”.
Read more The Sprint shows Ferrari and Mercedes closer in the race
