F1 Netherlands, Leclerc 2nd in the Sprint
Charles Leclerc finishes second in a Zandvoort Sprint that will certainly not go down in history for excitement and overtakes. There is one, and it is signed by the Monegasque himself at the expense of Lando Norris, now three quarters into the race. The Ferrari driver, starting from third position, kept contact with the leaders and in the final stages managed to overtake the Briton by saving battery and using it all in the only overtaking spot (turn 1).
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Leclerc, the only one among the top to start on softs, is the protagonist of an almost perfect Sprint, because from P3 it was unthinkable to catch and pass George Russell even with equal pace. This is his comment on the Sprint.
Leclerc’s words
“I think our pace was already excellent yesterday, in race simulation with the medium. We knew we had a good car, even if we are missing something in qualifying. With the choice of softs, I expected to gain positions at the start and not at the end of the Sprint, but it was quite a good race. Now we have to try to start a bit higher to make the race easier for ourselves. I would be surprised if we were to start on pole, but I will do everything to make it happen“.
“I thought the soft was a good tire. Of course, when I saw I was the only one with it I hoped I had judged everything correctly, but I am happy with this choice“, he added. “Could I catch Russell? I believed it, but after two or three laps he started pushing a bit more and there I realized it would be difficult. Also, he had a different power delivery on the straight compared to Lando“.
For Leclerc, second place represents a confirmation of the competitiveness shown by Ferrari at Zandvoort with the new floor. With this result, the Ferrari driver consolidates fourth place in the standings, extending to +11 over Norris.
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