Leclerc happy "that Verstappen is as aggressive as possible towards Norris" with championship in mind

Before the Mexican Grand Prix, on the evening of qualifying, Frédéric Vasseur was pleased to see Ferrari "fly under the radar" behind the fierce duel between Max Verstappen et Lando Norris, and more generally between Red Bull et McLarenThe French leader did not think so well, since Ferrari took advantage of it again on Sunday, during the race! On the 10th lap, Charles Leclerc gained two places in one go after the Dutchman's illegal maneuver on the Briton, trying to regain his position. The Monegasque, opportunistic, did not miss his chance and propelled himself to 2nd place behind his teammate Carlos Sainz.

The eight-time Grand Prix winner was in second place for a long time and could have given the Scuderia a second consecutive double, but Charles Leclerc found himself struggling with his tyres and in traffic towards the end of the race. Suffering from a major heat stroke in the final corner, the Monegasque was unable to resist the return of Lando Norris and had to settle for third place, with the point for fastest lap as a bonus gained on the last lap.

IT WAS HOT FOR LECLERC 🤯

Big oversteer for the Ferrari driver who opens the door to 2nd place for Norris ⬆️#MexicoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/zOCgPXL1gi

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) October 27, 2024

Norris could have won without his duel with Verstappen, says Leclerc

Aware that he had neither the pace nor the tires to go for the victory against an impressive Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc remains satisfied with the overall result of Ferrari which signs a new double podium and a new victory after Austin. Above all, the 27-year-old driver rubbed his hands to see Max Verstappen and Lando Norris still fighting during the Grand Prix… and he hopes that it will continue until the end of the season!

"I'm glad that Max is as aggressive as possible towards Lando because it helps me, at least it gives me a chance to get closer to Lando in the drivers' championship because there is always a fight., says Charles Leclerc, who believes that without their early scuffles, Lando Norris could have caught up with Carlos Sainz and won the Mexican Grand Prix. "It's actually more of a fight between Lando and me than with Max, who has a clear advantage in terms of points." The Monegasque nevertheless stresses that he does not "don't think about the drivers' championship, realistically", who still has a large 71-point deficit on the Dutchman (with 120 points available until the end of the season) and recognizes that his destiny is not in his hands.

"I feel like I can't decide whether I'm going to win the drivers' championship or not, He says. Or maybe a small part is under my control, and if I win all the races, that puts most of the chances on my side. But even if I do, Max has to have some really bad weekends and I'm not counting on that, so I'm going to try to have the best end of the season possible, and we'll do the math at the end of the season."

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