A podium that tasted like a “miracle” for Leclerc: “A very good surprise for the whole team”

It's rare to see Charles Leclerc also satisfied after a third place. He himself admits it in his own words: “I'm not often happy with a 3rd place, nor with a 2nd place, normally it's only the first that satisfies me. » But he went to get this one, giving everything that the Ferrari had to offer.

The Monegasque constructed his race perfectly in Zandvoort. Sixth on the grid, he immediately got the better of Sergio Pérez at the start, before remaining huddled in the exhausts ofOscar piastri and George Russell. On the 25th lap, the six-time Grand Prix winner decided to take his destiny into his own hands and return to the pits to attempt an undercut on his two adversaries.

A gamble that paid off since after all the pit stops, the Ferrari found itself in front of the Mercedes and McLaren. We still had to hold on until the finish! As an excellent manager, Charles Leclerc held his tires and his position despite the return of Oscar Piastri. After Belgium, Charles Leclerc signs a second consecutive podium by making the most of the Ferrari's current potential, while the SF-24 should receive new developments at Monza next week.

🎙️"It was a very good surprise" 🤩

Charles Leclerc's podium in a difficult weekend, notably thanks to the undercut on Oscar Piastri 👀#DutchGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Qkoh2fDUTs

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) August 25, 2024

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 3rd in the Dutch Grand Prix on Canal+ : “[Saturday], I said that the podium would be a miracle... and we still made the podium, so I'm happy. I'm not often happy with a 3rd place, nor with a 2nd place, normally it's only the first that satisfies me, but after a weekend as difficult as this one, with the performance that was greatly lacking until 'at the race today, it's really nice and it's a very good surprise for the whole team, because Carlos [Sainz] also was very fast. 3rd and 5th, for the team, is a good result this weekend. »

(On his undercut strategy on Piastri) “I felt the blow. We had discussed it a little before, we had a trick to make it clear when I was ready to do that, and they agreed with me so I returned to the pits. I attacked well on my exit lap. I knew that the undercut on Oscar was going to be quite easy because there is a big delta with the new tires here, and I knew that I had to push George to the limit. That's what we did and in the end, we managed to 'undercut' both of them. It was really well played. I was a little scared because the 2nd stint was very long, but we managed the tires well. Perfect management today, there is not much we could have done better. »

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