F1 | Leclerc: “Retiring like this hurts, but now the car is there”

From everything to nothing. Charles Leclerc and Ferrari seemed on their way to victory in the Spanish Grand Prix, on the Montmelò track, but an unidentified failure on F1-75 number 16 deprived the Monegasque and Scuderia del Cavallino Rampante of a victory that no one could have. question.

Starting very well from pole, Leclerc defended the first position well from the assault at the start of Max Verstappen and from that moment on he was unstoppable for everyone. Verstappen was also the author of a mistake during the first stint that led him to slide from second to fourth, making Leclerc’s life even easier.

After the pit stop, switched from Soft to Medium tires, it seemed that Charles’s race could be a catwalk towards success number three of the season, but suddenly the Ferrari driver noticed a problem deriving from the power unit (he via radio has talked about turbo failure) which forced him to retire.

“This is our first real problem this year,” Leclerc told Sky Sport after his race. “The team has done an extraordinary job so far on reliability. It hurts because we were first and we were managing everything well, it hurts but the championship is long.”

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18, George Russell, Mercedes W13

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

The retirement hurts, but Leclerc looks ahead and tries to think positively. The F1-75 has returned to managing the tires well after a few races in which it struggled (Imola and Miami), so it is legitimate to be optimistic for the rest of the season.

“We have to look at the positive things over the weekend. The performance in qualifying, in the race, and above all the feeling with the car in the race and tire management was all excellent.”

“It had been two or three races that I hadn’t felt the feeling anymore and it is positive to have found the best sensations. We have found something from this point of view. I am confident for the next races. It hurts but we look forward”, concluded the driver of the Ferrari.