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CLeclerc harles had the overwhelming disappointment of losing a first almost certain victory in Formula 1 at the Bahrain Grand Prix with the impressive stoicism of a veteran.
He is 21 years old and more experienced drivers have collapsed or burst in similar circumstances. The fact that Leclerc wore it with such broad and sophisticated shoulders reflected a rider who knows it's only a matter of time before he wins. But more than that, his performance and his reaction to the failure could well herald the beginning of a new dynamic in F1.
The young Monegasque, who was only in his second season in F1 and his second race in Ferrari, led comfortably on the Sakhir circuit when what turned out to be a problem of cylinders cost him money. energy. Lewis Hamilton, who won the race, was the best choice. Leclerc came in third, his first podium was a cold comfort.
Leclerc stopped for a moment before getting out of the badpit, gathering his thoughts and emerged to declare that it was part of the race. "Today was not our day," he said. "It's sad, I was so close to making a dream come true, but I hope this day will come someday into the future."
It will be, no doubt. Every step that he had made up to that time of the weekend had been extremely impressive. Bahrain had belonged to Leclerc. He was fastest in two of the three practice sessions, second after teammate Sebastian Vettel on Friday afternoon. He then blitzed on the quadruple world champion in qualifying, taking pole position with a lap three tenths faster than the German.
In the race, after a bad start, his only slip put him in third position, a calm and a clinical recovery ensued. He pbaded Valtteri Bottas then flew away after Vettel. He was faster but the team told him to stay in position for two rounds. However, he saw an opportunity and took it decisively at lap four. Other inexperienced or less hungry pilots might have thought that it would be good to stay in the place of their senior teammate. Leclerc just saw a chance and grabbed his head.
In the final act, as his power dissipated, attention remained at the center of attention. Leclerc immediately lost the disappointment by acknowledging that there were still points to be obtained. The opinion of the general manager of the Mercedes team, Toto Wolff, was enlightening.
"Very very impressive," he said. "He has a good personality. He is a humble young man and he is very fast. A good ingredient is to combine speed, personality and power to temper your emotions in both directions.
Charles Leclerc is in his second F1 season. Photography: Pixathlon / REX / Shutterstock
"I know many other drivers who have the lion in it, like him, would have reacted differently and would have been angry and would have shown it. And we did not see that.
However, Vettel, whose inner lion is sometimes ejected from his cage, particularly under pressure, was left facing another costly driving error. Hamilton had a great pbad on the 38th lap. Vettel finished fifth with the shooting of his tires and the loss of his front wing. The mistake made up of the mistakes he made last season cost him a chance to win the title.
Vettel admitted that it was his fault but Hamilton was friendly. "It happens to us all," he said. "It's not because you are a world champion that you will not spend the weekend."
The problem is that Vettel has much more expensive and much more expensive weekends than Hamilton and, although he talks to his rival, Hamilton knows it well. Despite their respective performances over the last two seasons, it is almost impossible now to not perceive that Hamilton has the full measure of Vettel.
Photo: Chesnot / Getty Images Europe
Leclerc's show of bravery in Bahrain brings a whole new level to their fight. Ferrari must consider that they have in him a driver who will charge the victory, is not at all intimidated by his teammate and he seems willing to ignore the orders of the team. The way they handle the situation is a major problem, as is Vettel's reaction if he was regularly beaten by Leclerc. In 2014, when Daniel Ricciardo did exactly that at Red Bull, the German did not react in this way with great serenity.
Hamilton praised Leclerc's performance, recognizing that this weekend was only his, but without misfortune. He already knew how good the young pilot could be, and now that everything has been proven, it is perfectly conceivable that Hamilton considers Leclerc the greatest threat.
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"I did not have a fight with him but I will do it at some point, I'm sure," he said. It's a fight that seems as inevitable as Leclerc winning that first win and a thrilling and vital new dimension for F1.
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