Leclerc recals Austrian GP after simrace: 'With Albon there was less contact'

Charles Leclerc, Alexander Albon and George Russell were on the track together again last weekend. The three friends lost sight of each other for a while, but according to Leclerc the band is still as strong as it used to be.

During the virtual Grand Prix of the Netherlands at the circuit of Interlagos (because the F1 2019 game doesn't have the circuit of Zandvoort) the battle for victory was hard, but fair. Albon won just ahead of Leclerc, although a time penalty forced the Monegask to beat his childhood friend Russell in the final standings.

''Simracing is of course not the same as racing in real life and will never be the same, but this comes pretty close. In the past George, Alex and I have lost touch a bit, especially over the years when we have been active in other racing classes. In this situation, however, we often talk to each other again and have a lot of fun," says Leclerc to RACER.

The fight for victory was hard with Albon, but Leclerc wants to compare it to the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix, where he lost to Max Verstappen. ''In any case there was much less contact, but much more overtaking than in Austria. I had a penalty because I was off the track, but I wanted to keep fighting with Alex for the victory'', concludes Leclerc, who left Albon ahead again after a failed overtake move.