Austrian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen’s late-race pass at turn three was “not the way to overtake”, according to Charles Leclerc.
After leading most of the race, Leclerc found himself under huge pressure from Verstappen in the closing laps of the race.
With Verstappen in the DRS zone with four laps to go, the Ferrari driver was forced into defensive driving against the quicker Red Bull car.
He looked to have been passed at turn three, but a strong drive off the corner allowed the Ferrari to reclaim the place into turn four.
Verstappen’s second attempt occurred at the same corner, but a wider line from the Dutchman meant Leclerc was unable to take the same line, and he was forced to yield the place.
The move is under investigation from the stewards but, whilst Leclerc believes that the end result would’ve been the same, he said that he thinks Verstappen’s overtake was ‘not correct’.
“If I felt the overtake was done correctly…I don’t think the second one was, but I believe that the result would’ve been the same, but it’s not the way to overtake,” said Leclerc.
“I did the same thing from the first to the second lap [under attack from Verstappen], the only thing that changed on the second lap was that there was contact, and then I had to go wide and then I lost quite a bit of time.
“I’ve done exactly the same thing from the first to the second lap, so I didn’t expect contact on the second lap. I think Max braked a little bit deeper. I don’t know if he lost it or not, but there was contact.
“I felt I was quite strong in traction. On the first one I had quite good traction and managed to keep my position. On the second one, I couldn’t do that because I was off the track.”
To view the full provisional results from the Austrian Grand Prix, click here.
