Charles Leclerc did not hide his irritation with Lewis Hamilton after the battle between the two during the Formula 1 Chinese GP Sprint. The Ferrari driver questioned his teammate’s spatial awareness while they fought for the position that could put them in the direct fight for the victory.
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The short race in Shanghai ended with George Russell in first position, just six-tenths ahead of Leclerc. Hamilton completed the Sprint podium, crossing the finish line about 1.8s behind his teammate.
The race began with Russell maintaining the lead after the start, but Hamilton reacted better and advanced quickly at the beginning of the race. The Briton started from fourth position on the starting grid and took the lead by overtaking the Mercedes driver at turn 8.
While the two were locked in an intense battle for the lead, Leclerc began to close in. The Monegasque had started in sixth and, with the duel between Russell and Hamilton ahead, managed to reduce the gap until entering the fight for the podium.
On the fifth lap, Leclerc finally appeared in the direct fight for the top positions. Shortly after, the two Ferrari drivers began to fight wheel-to-wheel for second place.
The decisive moment occurred on the eighth lap, when Leclerc managed to overtake Hamilton at turn 1 and take second place. The duel between the teammates, however, remained intense right after the overtake.
Hamilton tried to regain the position and closed the line during the attack attempt. The maneuver irritated Leclerc, who immediately complained over the team radio.
“Ah, the space! Does he know how wide these cars are or not?”, questioned the Ferrari driver during communication with the team.
Read more F1: Russell wins Chinese GP Sprint with Ferrari on the podium
Even with the internal dispute, Leclerc managed to maintain the position until the end of the race and finished the Sprint in second place. Still, he also sought explanations over the radio about the lack of power at the moment he was trying to attack Russell for the lead.
“Why didn’t I have all the power?”, the driver asked race engineer Bryan Bozzi. The answer was direct: “You used it all”.
After the race, Leclerc explained that the restart after the safety car, caused by Nico Hulkenberg’s stopped car, was the best opportunity he had to try to overtake Russell.
According to the Ferrari driver, he tried to be more aggressive on the throttle at that moment. However, the tires were colder than expected and this ended up causing a loss of grip.
“I thought that was the chance. I saw George’s car slide a bit and thought I could take the lead,” he explained. “I tried to accelerate harder, but I had the same level of rear grip as him and almost lost the car.”
Even with the missed opportunity, Leclerc left the Sprint with an important result for the championship. The driver remains in third position in the Drivers’ Championship, now tied on points with Kimi Antonelli, both with 22.
Leading the standings is Russell, who reached 33 points after the Sprint victory in Shanghai.
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