Spanish Grand Prix: Terrible disappointment for Charles Leclerc

Scuderia Ferrari

The Monegasque driver was forced to drop out on the 27th lap, surrendering the lead in the world championship to Max Verstappen (Red Bull) for the first time of the season.

Everything seemed to be going so well, but in the end it was too good to be true. Another terrible disappointment for Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), who started in pole position, and led the Grand Prix for nearly thirty laps. After a loss of power, his single-seater gave up the ghost halfway through the race, and with it any hopes of victory.

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“It hurts.” Leclerc admitted at the end of the race. “But we must look at the positives this weekend, and there were many. We managed to fix our tyre management issues and the car had a very fast pace. These engine problems need to be addressed , we can’t afford to experience this again during the season. But it’s the first engine issue we’ve had since the start of the year. The engineers have worked really hard this season. We’ll come back stronger.”

Max Verstappen and Red Bull benefit

Winner of two Grand Prix races (Bahrain, Australia) since the beginning of the season, the Monegasque had a prime opportunity to increase his lead over his main competitor, Max Verstappen (Red Bull) in the drivers’ world championship, with three victories overall. But it was not to be. Worse still, the reigning world champion seized the opportunity of taking back the leader’s mantle, one week before a Monaco Grand Prix that promises to be thrilling.

With Charles Leclerc no longer on the track, the two Red Bull drivers took advantage of the opportunity to score maximum points, besting George Russell (Mercedes), who had a promising race at the wheel of an improved Mercedes after a poor start to the season. In the drivers’ world championship, Max Verstappen (110 points) took the lead ahead of Charles Leclerc (104 points), while Red Bull (195 points) also overtook Ferrari (169 points) in the manufacturers’ world championship.