Charles Leclerc cut a downbeat figure after losing out on a podium finish - or possible victory - in the British Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver was leading the event until a late Safety Car came out and he was left vulnerable to his teammate, Carlos Sainz, on the restart. Leclerc was not called in to pit under the Safety Car, while Sainz came in and switched to the Soft tyres, leaving the Spanish driver in a much better position on the restart.
Not enough time to pit both cars?
When the race restarted, Leclerc was under pressure from not only his teammate, but the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, who had also pitted for the Soft rubber. Ferrari didn't believe there would be enough time to bring both drivers in to do a double stack, so Leclerc was left out on old, Hard rubber. Leclerc felt that the victory was his up until that point but, when the race restarted, Sainz sailed past him to secure the first win of his 150-race F1 career.
Leclerc: Binotto just wanted to cheer me up
After the race ended, Leclerc was seen talking to team boss Mattia Binotto ahead of a race debrief where he is hoping to see the full picture as to why he went from first to fourth. "He wanted to cheer me up," Leclerc explained when he was questioned by Sky Sports F1 about what had happened between them. "We will have to look at the global picture. On my side, I only have my picture for my race, and obviously in the car sometimes you don't have the full picture. "From my side, I felt like I lost a bit too much time in the first stint, and especially in the first part of the second stint. "But this is only my view and it might change once I see the full picture."
Leclerc praises teammate Sainz
Despite his own disappointment, Leclerc shared a few words of praise for teammate Sainz on his maiden F1 win. "I don't want the focus to be pointed towards my disappointing race, but more towards his incredible race win," added Leclerc. "Obviously a first win in Formula 1 is always extremely special. It's great for the team, it's great for Carlos. "He kept building confidence in the last few races and today he has shown it, so obviously I'm very happy for him."
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