Leclerc’s open aggression
Following the Austrian Grand Prix back in July, Leclerc re-evaluated his approach to racing in F1. He’d just been muscled out of victory by Max Verstappen, unfairly in his opinion, and yet the Red Bull ace had escaped punishment. It dawned on Ferrari’s young star that he had to draw a line: such a defeat would not be allowed to happen again.
At Silverstone, the next round, again Verstappen engaged Leclerc, but this time he found a tougher adversary. Their battle was one for the ages – and to their merit, hard but a fair.
That more aggressive approach Leclerc displayed that day paid off again on Sunday, as he faced just about the most difficult task in motor racing for the second time in a week: holding off a charge from one of the hardest charging racers in history.
Yes, the Ferrari had a clear straight-line advantage – “I need more power, man” – said frustrated hunter Lewis Hamilton, but still, when that silver car looms in your mirrors it takes serious iron to stand firm.
Inevitably, Lewis did eventually get a run on Leclerc, not down the main straight which always left the Merc gasping in the Ferrari’s wake, but through Curva Grande and into the braking zone for the second chicane. And then Leclerc edged Hamilton off the track.
Should he have been penalised? Let’s just say it was a convenient time for the black and white warning flag – the motorsport equivalent of a yellow card – to be re-introduced to F1, seemingly for the first time in years. The stewards had let him off. So much for consistency.
Later, Leclerc made the kind of error we’ve seen from him before. At his age and at such an early stage of his career, mistakes are inevitable – and to his credit, no driver on the grid is more self-critical. But as Leclerc cut the first chicane and quickly recovered his composure, he then made a clear choice as he went on the defensive at Curva Grande: he put a clear block on Hamilton that many, including Lewis himself, judged as dangerous.
Again, the stewards – watching a young man chasing Ferrari’s first win at Monza since 2010 – turned a blind eye. The chicane cut was “noted”. The block? No comment.
Does Leclerc deserve praise for his victory? Of course. But did he also deserve a penalty? Given the precedent set from other such moves earlier in the season, the hard line stewards have previously taken to the letter of the law and their usual lack of flexibility in this era, you’d have to say he was fortunate to get away with it.
Did it have anything to do with the colour of his car and the specific location of this circuit? We couldn’t possibly say.