Leclerc reacts to Bahrain win: "Tried to be as clever as possible"

Charles Leclerc did not have an easy afternoon in Bahrain. The Ferrari driver was pushed to the limit by Max Verstappen, but in the end he managed to cross the finish line first in a crazy final phase. The young Monegasque is delighted with his victory in the first Grand Prix of the year.

"So happy," Leclerc said in a conversation with Martin Brundle. "Again I keep repeating myself but the last two years have been incredibly difficult for the team. We knew that this was going to be an big opportunity for the team. Thee guys have done an incredible job building this incredible car. Thank you to everyone who stayed with us over the years." 

Attack on Verstappen

For a moment it looked like Max Verstappen would take over the momentum in the race, but in the end Leclerc managed to parry two serious attacks. "I was trying to be as clever as possible using the DRS to brake early at turn 1 and be happy him and then took back the position. I am happy to have made it work. I didn't want it (SC) but had a good restart behind that helped me manage the race to the end," echoed a proud Leclerc.

In the closing stages, it became a bit of a squeeze when Pierre Gasly stalled and caused a safety car. "I wasn't waiting for it, but my restart was great. That gave me space to drive the race home," said the leader of the 2022 World Championship.

Ferrari immediately does extremely good business for the constructors' championship. The Italian formation picks up the maximum number of points and thus has a very large lead over Red Bull and also Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell grabbed 27 points together.