Charles Leclerc was in dominant form during the Bahrain Grand Prix, leading all but two laps, winning comfortably, and looking a better version of himself than we've ever seen. The Monagasque agrees, he spoke to Sky Sports.
“A victory is always very special. I feel much grown compared to my victory in 2019. Here everything felt much more under control. There was some intense moments on track, but everything felt well managed."
Despite a few moments of action between the Ferrari driver and reigning World Champion Max Verstappen, Leclerc looked at one with his car and was comfortably the best driver out there, pulling away from the field.
However, that changed when Pierre Gasly's AlphaTauri stopped by the side of the track with an engine fire, causing the Safety Car to be deplyed. Once again, Leclerc was masterful and performed a perfect restart, retaining the lead. "I did a good restart, so it would have been difficult for Max to overtake.”
Of course it wouldn't be Leclerc if he didn't have fun with it on the way, pulling a prank on his engineers on the last lap. “I did a bit of a joke on the radio, saying there was something strange in the engine, the engineers didn’t like that but it was fun."
I think Leclerc wins about 16 races this year. Should be quite an easy championship. Leclerc had a lot of speed to spare. Very easy to retake the lead after getting passed in turn 1. RBR were going to need luck to go their way to beat Ferrari this year such as Leclerc suffering a DNF while Max takes 25 points. Instead it's gone the other way.
It was very much a controlled race.... Thought clever and clean with Max,built a lead leading up to every pit stop and seemed real easy on the tires.... Yes the car is good,but Carlos has exactly the same equipment and wasn't getting the same out of it.
Leclerc is on another level. There may be a few good days when Sainz is on a par. Sainz is a much better performing and consistent driver than Perez. For RedBull, Perez's only major "achievement" was to get in the way of LH at Abu Dahbi. Effective, but not exactly sporting.
I agree. Leclerc is a born talent. Sainz is solid and reliable, but he lacks the spark. I suppose it's good thing for Ferrari: Leclerc fighting for a title and Sainz getting podiums and good points for Constructors Championship.
Totally agree. Carlos is fast, intelligent and determined, a bit more than a backup. He watches, he learns, he practices, he doesn't give up, he doesn't argue. Nothing to do with Barrichello and other drivers who spent more time complaining than studying how their teammate could go faster.
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