Leclerc reacts to unusual collision with Verstappen after SC restart - Spanish GP

At the end of a certainly challenging weekend, Charles Leclerc can be considered reasonably satisfied with the third place he secured at the Spanish GP, marking his third podium of a season that has been difficult so far for him and Ferrari.

The Monegasque had deliberately sacrificed his final attempt in Q3 with the goal of saving a set of tires for the race, hoping to climb back up the order by adopting a different strategy compared to the others.

However, at least until Kimi Antonelli’s retirement due to Power Unit issues on lap 55, number 16 had not managed to pose a significant threat to the top three, with Max Verstappen also opting for an aggressive three-stop strategy.

While Leclerc managed to fit a set of soft tires towards the end, the four-time world champion was left holding the short end of the stick, with the mechanics forced to put on a set of hard tires—the only ones available at that moment. Obviously, the move didn’t pay off, as the Dutchman had a big moment during the restart, losing his position precisely to the Ferrari driver.

A slight contact between the two then led the stewards to investigate Leclerc’s maneuver, but the monegasque managed to get away without any penalty.

Commenting on the slight contact with his long-time rival, Leclerc said: ''I don't think there's anything special. Max did a mistake out of the last corner. I went side by side. He tried to bring me in the dirty side of the track as I would have done, which is normal. And then once I had the upper hand in terms of speed, I tried to take the slipstream a little bit on the first move''.