The British Grand Prix – an inexplicable race that will be talked about for a long time. The most unfortunate part of the race, barring Verstappen’s crash, was when Charles Leclerc lost the race lead. He led the race magnificently, surpassing everyone’s expectations. However, that last lap is surely going to be one keeping the Monegasque driver up at night.
The team radio of a very defeated Charles is entirely heartbreaking to hear. The initial silence on Leclerc’s side of the radio divulges enough about the driver’s mindset. “F*ck, f*ck… thanks for the great car. I’m so disappointed.”
After leading 50 laps from the restart, he was just two laps away from victory; so close, yet so far away.
Lewis Hamilton snatched the lead from Leclerc at Copse, the same spot at which the first lap collision with Max took place.
The Briton, who stood P5 after a pit stop and 10-second time-penalty, caught up with the Ferrari after passing Lando, followed by teammate Bottas on team orders. He then inched closer to Leclerc with a one-second gap with three laps to go. It was a brilliant performance by Hamilton, much to Leclerc’s dismay.
Charles Leclerc – the race leader at Silverstone
Silverstone was an unfortunate two laps away from hearing the Monacan national anthem play on the podium today. What could have been an extremely competitive win for Charles was undermined by the harsh reality of the pace in the Mercedes.
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Leclerc stood fourth on the starting grid at Silverstone. With the lights out, he overtook Merecedes’ Valtteri Bottas with ease. Then, the Ferrari driver took a surprising lead on the first lap of the race following the collision of the championship rivals. With a red flag bringing the race to a halt, all eyes were on the red car on top of the grid during restart.
How good is this young man!
SOOOO good to race with you again today, @Charles_Leclerc! pic.twitter.com/Co6Qgi48Yn
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 18, 2021
It was easy to assume Hamilton would overtake Charles easily, but the Monegasque put up a brave fight against the Knight when the race resumed. The silver car tried its best to find a way in front, but Charles was determined to defend his position. The dirty air from the Ferrari also caused Lewis to fall back a little.
Soon, an “aah” moment presented itself, when Charles made the airwaves red, complaining about an engine problem. Hope was lost at that moment, and everyone thought Lewis would get the easy win. A quick fix later, Charles’ radio was up again, with the power issues in the Prancing Horse closing the gap between the two. Hamilton, waiting to pounce, had to wait longer, as the Ferrari was soon optimized.
Charles tactfully held the Mercedes back and maintained the lead.
The dreadful final laps
Disaster struck in the final laps as Lewis was on the hunt, creeping closer and closer to his red target. Soon, it was Hammer time and the gap between them closed as Hamilton found redemption on home soil.
Charles mentioned in a post-race interview how he gave the race 200% but that wasn’t enough. “It is difficult to enjoy 100% but it has been an incredible race, I gave not 100% but I gave 200%, I gave all of me but it was just not enough in the last two laps.”
CHARLES: “It’s difficult to enjoy 100%. I gave all of me but it was not enough in the last two laps. Congrats to Lewis – he did an amazing job. The team is working incredibly well. I’m incredibly proud of them”#BritishGP
#F1 pic.twitter.com/Y7YhNqUxfH
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 18, 2021
It was a luckless race for Leclerc, but all that’s left to say is “Bravissimo Charles!” because it truly was spectacular race on his part.
Watch this story: Lewis Hamilton: Ranking His F1 World Titles From 2008 to 2020
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