The riddle in Formula 1 about the extreme speed difference at the end of the start-finish straight in the duel between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen in Bahrain has been solved.
Before the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Ferrari driver Leclerc revealed that the condition of his battery was ultimately responsible for the poor top speed at the end of the straight.
Between lap 17 and lap 19, the two delivered a heartwarming duel as Verstappen sucked in three times at the start and finish, passed three times but was countered by Leclerc each time.
Especially on the first attempt on lap 17, his excess speed at the end of the straight was enormous. According to the “F1 TV” insert, Leclerc reached a top speed of 280 km/h and Verstappen 325 km/h.
Also interesting: Because Leclerc was equipped with a helmet camera, you had a perfect view of the display on your steering wheel via “F1 TV”. And you could see that on lap 17, unlike the previous laps, he didn’t shift up from seventh to eighth gear at the end of the start-finish straight.
Leclerc: “This is how I was able to defend my lead”
“My battery was in critical condition,” Leclerc explains now. “As a result, I didn’t have any additional power available to defend myself at the end of start-finish. So I preferred to save my power for the second straight to be able to overtake him back there.”
It was “not an easy situation”, admits Leclerc. But: “I think we managed it as a team in the best possible way, and I also managed to hang onto his DRS on the second straight, so I was able to defend my lead, which was very important for the rest of the race. “
Leclerc ultimately won the duel, which had only come about through a strong undercut by Red Bull, after he was able to fend off Verstappen’s undercut at the second pit stop, and won the Grand Prix.
“It was nice how we drove in Bahrain”
For Leclerc and Verstappen, Bahrain 2022 was the continuation of a years-long rivalry. There are already YouTube videos from the go-kart that show loud arguments between the two little ones after they had previously bumped into each other on the kart track.
And the tough duel at the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix, which Verstappen ultimately won, is legendary. In retrospect, Leclerc says he was angry at the time, “because it wasn’t clear what was allowed and what wasn’t. It’s clear now, and that’s exactly what we want as racing drivers.”
“It was nice how we drove in Bahrain. I’m looking forward to this fight. I don’t know if it will continue like this for the whole year, because further development is very important this season. We have to have that under control. But if we are as close together as in Bahrain, then it would be great to have such fights every race,” hopes Leclerc.