Charles Leclerc was pleased with the result of the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday, with the Monegasque racer bring home six more points for the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team after finishing an excellent seventh.
Leclerc made some good overtakes early on at the Sochi Autodrom, none better than the move he pulled off around the outside of Haas F1 Team racer Kevin Magnussen at turn four to run what was then in fifth position.
Although he would go on to lose out to both of the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing drivers as Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo climbed through the field following their engine penalties and back-of-the-grid starts, Leclerc was the only driver not from the leading three teams on the grid not to be lapped, and he secured his seventh top ten result of his rookie campaign.
“I am very happy with the result today,” said Leclerc, who will swap Sauber for Scuderia Ferrari in 2019. “It was a great race, with a strong strategy, and a car that felt very good to drive. The overtakes at the beginning of the race were on the limit but they helped us to finish the race in P7.
“To score such a result for the first time this season feels amazing, and is a good reward for all of the hard work we put in week after week. I am glad to have scored some more points and can’t wait for the next race in Japan.”
The result sees Leclerc remain in fifteenth position in the Drivers’ Championship with twenty-one points, while Sauber themselves remain ninth, but are just three points behind Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda with five races of the season remaining.
