“I Can Be That As Well” – Charles Leclerc on Becoming an On-Track Animal Like Max Verstappen After ‘Exciting’ COTA Battle

Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen locked horns at the United States GP in one of the most exciting battles on Sunday. With the Ferrari driver ultimately earning the bragging rights on the day, Leclerc, running high on confidence, feels that he can be just as ruthless on the track as Verstappen, if push comes to shove.

Speaking to the F1 media after the race, Leclerc admitted that he knew the overtake on Verstappen was always going to be a tight affair. Fully aware of the fact that the Dutchman can be “an animal” on the track, Leclerc claimed that he, too, can present a similar front when the visor goes down.

Per the Monegasque driver, “Max is an animal on track, and I feel like sometimes when I close the visor, I can be that as well. And that’s why it’s exciting, because I know he’s not gonna leave me much space, and the same I will do for him, but it was good to end up on top after those first few corners, but then he surprised me again in turn 15.”

Speaking further, Leclerc admitted that he didn’t have the confidence that he would be able to keep Verstappen behind given he was running low on battery. Therefore, had the race gone on longer, chances are that the Red Bull driver would have taken P2 back for himself.

Max Verstappen Has His Say on the Battle With Charles Leclerc

Having overtaken Verstappen round the outside once, Leclerc found himself reeling after both Verstappen and Lando Norris gained track position ahead of him. But running on the hards, the No. 16 driver’s final stint of the race was as good as any.

Having made quick work of Norris, Leclerc kept Verstappen in his sights and made sure he had the battery deployment when he needed it most.

Then came the back straight where Verstappen had no answer, and Leclerc flew by the Dutchman in the blink of an eye. Despite the battle not seeing another chapter written on the day, both drivers were still elated to be a part of some stellar action.

Having his say on the matter, Verstappen said that it looked to him like Leclerc had turned his boost on from Turn 2 to Turn 3, helping him go past him on the outside. Then, they had a good battle going into Turn 15, so it was an overall good day of racing.

The Red Bull driver also looked back on Lap 1 when he had Lewis Hamilton on his outside right after getting overtaken by Leclerc, but was able to deploy the energy needed to keep his long-time rival at bay.

But the fact remains that both the Ferrari cars had the pace to fight for the race win, and it was all down to key strategic decisions.

Data Shows Genius Ferrari Call In COTA

Telemetry data shows that Ferrari’s decision to shift from the mediums to the hards put Leclerc in a prime position to strike at Verstappen. With both drivers starting on the soft compound, the difference between their performances came in the second stint, when Leclerc switched to the mediums while Verstappen took on a new set of softs.

The Dutchman’s lap times took a huge plunge, forcing him back to the pits. Ferrari’s masterclass lay in the fact that they chose not to mirror Red Bull and bring their driver in for another soft compound.

Midway through the stint, Ferrari knew that the hard compound would be the way to go, given it was performing exceptionally well for the other teams.

And that’s precisely what happened, with the Scuderia challenger becoming a rocket ship by the time the final stint began. With Leclerc making quick work of Verstappen on Lap 47 of the race, Hamilton could also have secured a podium finish, had his momentum not been halted by a late Virtual Safety Car.

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