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Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc taken aback after surprising Austrian GP question

Charles Leclerc zeroed in on the one moment of note in his Austrian Grand Prix, having been caught off-guard by an FIA press conference question.

Leclerc Austria
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Charles Leclerc was at a loss when trying to reflect on the "key moments" of his Austrian Grand Prix, apart from wishing he had done a "better job" at the start of the race.

Having started alongside pole-sitter Lando Norris, the Ferrari driver was unable to get alongside the McLaren on the run up to the first corner.

He attempted to go up the inside, but the Briton shut the door. In doing so, it allowed the other MCL39 of Oscar Piastri around the outside of Leclerc, who dropped to third position.

From there on out, it was a quiet and uneventful afternoon at the Red Bull Ring for the eight-time grand prix winner, who finished on the podium, nine seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the second SF-25.

So much so that when he was asked for the main highlights of his afternoon in the post-race FIA press conference, he was taken aback.

"Oh, I did not expect that question," the Monegasque driver responded to media, including RacingNews365. "There weren't very many key moments on my side.

"Obviously, the start, I wish I had done a bit of a better job to be completely alongside Lando. Maybe that would have changed a little bit for three or four laps. I don't think we had the pace to stay there in front.

"Basically, from Turn 1 to the end, it was a very boring race. I was on my own, just trying to manage quite a few issues that we had on our side."

'Let's not call them issues'

Having said he was dealing with "quite a few issues" on his Ferrari, Leclerc instantly corrected himself, before providing some clarity as to what the "situation" is with his car currently.

Refraining from providing too much information, the 27-year-old explained how having to lift and coast (when a driver takes their foot off the throttle before applying the brakes at corner entry to manage fuel load and other aspects of the car) had made for a "frustrating" afternoon in Spielberg.

"Let's not call them issues, but we've got to do some management in the situation we're in at the moment," Leclerc added.

"I won't go into the detail, but the lift and coast was a little bit frustrating. We paid a bit of the price for it on the first stint, but then the second and last stint were a bit more positive, which was good.

"But there weren't many key moments apart from the start."

Also interesting:

Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding, as they look back at the Austrian GP but also take a look ahead to Silverstone. Max Verstappen's title chances are a lead discussion, as is whether Lando Norris can for the first time this year secure back-to-back wins.

Rather watch the podcast? Then click here!

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