Charles Leclerc revealed that a two-stop strategy was considered during the Mexico City Grand Prix, as Max Verstappen caught him in staggering fashion.
Leclerc started in second alongside polesitter Lando Norris, both on the soft compound. It was a slow launch from the Ferrari driver, who found himself battling Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen into Turn 1.
At the first corner, Leclerc took to the grass and rejoined on the exit of Turn 3, still in second place. No penalty was awarded to the Monegasque, who cruised into the distance in second.
However, in the second stint, Leclerc was fitted with the medium tyres, while Verstappen was on the softs.
Remarkably, Verstappen calved through the field and caught Leclerc, despite having been over 20 seconds adrift.
Verstappen had much stronger pace after setting 30 consecutive laps in the 1m 21s, but was unable to attempt an overtake in the final laps due to a Virtual Safety Car.
A VSC was needed to retrieve Carlos Sainz's car in the stadium section, saving Leclerc from Verstappen to finish in a strong second.
Unsurprisingly, the Ferrari driver was relieved to see the VSC activated as he knew Verstappen would get past, which had made him and the team consider a two-stop strategy.
"Yeah. I was very happy to see the Virtual Safety Car coming out in the last two laps," said Leclerc. "I think without it, there was more chance of Max getting past than me staying in front.
"Especially with those medium tyres, the feeling was just not there from the beginning to the end. I was definitely tempted by the two stops, but I don't know.
"At the end, I just stuck to what I was on, which was the medium tyre, and tried to make it work—and we did. It was close. We got a little bit lucky, but I'm proud we made it stick."
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