Ferrari Faces Off Against Top Gear in China's Grand Prix Clash
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton had a nearly race-long battle at Shanghai, and were successfully trusted not to collide by Ferrari team boss Vasseur
Motorsport photo Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has admitted to having been “a bit scared” as his drivers, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton , battled throughout Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix. Hamilton briefly led the race on lap one before being overtaken by polesitter Kimi Antonelli ; the Ferraris fought George Russell for second place in the first few laps and then over 15 laps following the safety car intervention, with the Mercedes man comfortably outpacing them in the second half of the race. Hamilton and Leclerc were left to battle it out for the third spot on the podium, which they did for most of the race – hence a suboptimal pace relative to Russell late on – with F1’s new power unit rules providing entertaining racing due to energy management.
The seven-time world champion eventually took a decisive advantage on lap 40 and increased the gap to 3. 6 seconds under the chequered flag. “I really enjoyed it.
I'm not sure if you ask the team they will reply the same, but I really enjoyed it,” Leclerc commented. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari He’s not wrong in the scuffle potentially being hair-raising for the team. “I have to be honest, sometimes you are a bit scared,” Vasseur admitted to Sky Germany, “but I trust them that they were in control and that something can happen.
“But on the other hand, it's also very difficult as a team to freeze the positions. I think they are professional and I really enjoyed this. ” Like team-mate Hamilton, who branded the Chinese GP as one of his most enjoyable F1 races ever, Leclerc thoroughly relished the wheel-to-wheel action.