Charles Leclerc hopes to put Red Bull and Max Verstappen 'under pressure' using key Ferrari characteristic

Charles Leclerc hopes to put Red Bull and Max Verstappen under pressure with strategy on Sunday as Ferrari had similar degradation to the leader. Leclerc got a great start to the sprint but was squeezed by Verstappen into the first turn. With Max grabbing the initiative, Charles focused on managing his position and the race.

What was, however, interesting to watch for both Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen was that the gap between the Ferrari and Red Bull drivers did not increase significantly. This season, it has been the norm to see Max get the lead at the start of the race and then drive off. None of that happened in the sprint.

The gap between the two drivers went back and forth for around two seconds before Max Verstappen pulled out another second by the end of the race. Looking back at the race, Charles Leclerc was happy with the result and pointed out the fact that Ferrari could maintain a strong race pace behind Verstappen.

Talking about how a similar degradation to the Red Bull could open up strategic opportunities in the race, Charles Leclerc said (via Sky Sports):

"I had quite a good start and then I was in the inside of Turn One and obviously I didn't want to take too many risks because we've also got qualifying later on. If you crash in Sprint you probably don't participate later on! So I tried there, we both braked very, very late with Max, but eventually he got to keep the position."

He added:

"I was pushing very hard but in the first few laps they had a bit more pace. But then we had a similar degradation and so tomorrow, it's a long race so qualifying will be important to be starting as much in front as possible. Then hopefully we can put them under pressure with strategy."

---

Max Verstappen not completely happy as he finishes ahead of Charles Leclerc

Max Verstappen admitted after the race that he wasn't too happy with the setup of the car as he came home around three seconds ahead of Leclerc. Talking about the race, the driver touched on the start of the sprint where he had to squeeze the Ferrari driver early to maintain the lead into the first corner.

Verstappen said (via Sky Sports):

"My engagement wasn’t good at the start so I had to squeeze him (Leclerc) a bit. Luckily everything worked out in turn 1. Then we had the Safety Car to calm things down a little bit, but after that, steadily we could increase the gap a little bit, but it wasn’t entirely perfect. So we still have a bit of work to do."

It will be interesting to see how the two teams approach the setup now because it does appear that qualifying plays a massive role in the final result of these races.