Charles Leclerc is overjoyed with his third-place finish at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Monegasque driver did not expect to secure a podium position in Jeddah, especially with Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli and later Lando Norris behind him. However, the Ferrari driver managed to fend off their attacks and even overtake George Russell to claim his first podium finish of the season.
Leclerc started in fourth place but managed to overtake George Russell in lap 38 for the third podium spot. Lando Norris then began to close in on Leclerc, but ran out of laps to overtake the Ferrari driver.
“In qualifying, we couldn’t extract more from the car, but I was very happy with the race today,” says a relieved Leclerc. “We really got the maximum out of it, and now we need to improve the car to be able to fight further up the field.”
Unexpected
The Ferrari driver has often exchanged memorable radio messages with his race engineer in recent races, and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was no exception. “Bryan (Bozzi, Leclerc’s race engineer) was very relaxed on the pit wall today,” jokes the Monegasque. “For me, it was a bit more intense in the car. But we have a good relationship. Very happy with today. I did not expect to finish here (in third place). I thought this race would be about not letting the cars behind me pass, especially Kimi (Antonelli in the Mercedes), so it was really good.” Leclerc hopes that the team will come up with upgrades soon.
