Charles Leclerc believes he “couldn’t have got a better result” than his third place in the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix.
Leclerc started the race from third and was unchallenged from behind throughout the race while team-mate Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton endured a controversial battle out front.
Despite a “rather lonely” race in which he finished 4.6 seconds behind eventual race winner Hamilton, Leclerc says he’s happy with the result.
“I am quite happy with my race today, despite it having been a rather lonely one for me,” said Leclerc. “I think that we couldn’t have got a better result and our performance was strong from the first to the last lap.”
Leclerc remained relatively quiet on the controversial penalty awarded to his team-mate that cost him the win, saying that it’s a shame for Scuderia Ferrari to lose a victory.
“At the same time, it is a shame for the team to have lost the first win of the season. I look forward to the next race in France now. It is difficult to say where we will stand there, as the circuit here in Montreal suits our car very well, but we will work as hard as we can to continue improving and fighting for strong results.”
His podium in Canada is just the second of Leclerc’s career following his third place in Bahrain, where he would have likely won were it not for a late-race technical issue. He currently sits fifth in the drivers’ standings on sevety-two points, sixteen behind Max Verstappen.
