"What made the difference at the end was the graining" - Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen downplay claims of DRS effect in their battle during the 2022 F1 Imola GP sprint

Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen believe the DRS did not affect their battle up front. The Monegasque and the Dutchman claimed that it was the graining of the Ferrari driver’s tires that made it easier for the Red Bull driver to pass.

Upon being asked if there was a profound DRS effect while overtaking, Leclerc explained, saying:

“I think the pace are quite similar. What made the difference at the end is the graining phase that I went through at the end of the race and if we managed to cure that for tomorrow, I’m pretty sure that we’re in the fight for the win. If not, it’s going to be a bit more difficult. But anything is possible for tomorrow, I think.”

Skeptical about the DRS effect being significant in the race, the Dutchman said:

“I don’t think it was because of the DRS, it was just because at the end, Charles was definitely struggling more with the graining, so then, of course, I could close up and, of course, use the DRS then to get by – but I think it was more just a bit of a waiting game because every lap, it just seemed like the gap or the difference in the two cars was getting bigger in terms of lap time and so on.”

The Ferrari driver did push his tires at the beginning of the race, causing graining on his tires towards the later stages. While there was not much pace difference between the two, it made it easier for the Red Bull driver to close the gap on Charles Leclerc. Making the winning move was easier for Max Verstappen on lap 20, since he had conserved enough pace in his tires.

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Charles Leclerc believes the graining on his tires cost him the race

Charles Leclerc believes the lesson learned from the sprint race was that his lack of conservation of the tires cost him the win. He claimed that understanding the graining on his tires will be key to nailing a result in the main race. The Monegasque said pushing at the start of the race to pull away from Verstappen made him pay the price towards the end of it.

Speaking about the lessons learned from the sprint race, the Ferrari driver said:

“Well, that we need to fix the graining most of all. It felt like we damaged the tyres a bit more, especially the front right for some reason. So, we’ll focus on that for tomorrow’s race.”

Describing his race and pitfalls with tire usage, the Ferrari driver said:

“I had a very good start, so yeah, we ran side-by-side through Turn 1 and I could focus on my own race from that moment onwards. I tried to push at the beginning to get a bit of a gap and for Max not being in the DRS zone, because I knew that I will have been vulnerable if it was the case. But I paid the price a little bit later on in the race and had some graining and really struggled in the last two, three laps. So, it’s like this but it’s only the sprint race and we’ll learn from this to be better tomorrow.”

While Max Verstappen has moved up to fifth place in the drivers’ standings with a total of 33 points after the sprint race, Charles Leclerc has also managed to extend his lead by 7 points. The Dutchman will have to stop the Ferrari driver from winning the race at Imola to be able to get back in the fight after two DNFs in the last three race weekends.