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Charles Leclerc suggested that sixth place in the Las Vegas GP was the maximum he could achieve with the pace he had. Speaking to media, including Sportskeeda, after the race, the Ferrari driver admitted that both Oscar Piastri and Kimi Antonelli had a stronger pace in the closing stages.
Leclerc initially crossed the line in sixth, but the post-race disqualification of both McLaren drivers promoted him to fourth, a bonus he had not been expecting. His comments were made before the stewards’ decision, and at the time, the 27-year-old was left frustrated by the lack of speed he had throughout the race.
A slow first pitstop cost Charles Leclerc around 20 seconds and dropped him to tenth, forcing him to climb back through the pack. In the final stint, he found himself stuck behind Piastri, who was running in a DRS train behind the Mercedes ahead.
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Antonelli, who had been leading the group, picked up a five-second penalty, meaning the gap between the pursuing cars determined their final classification. Charles Leclerc admitted he was aware of the penalty but insisted there was little more he could do. In the final laps, he appeared to drop back, something he explained was simply due to the lack of pace in his own
Asked by Sportskeeda if there was a chance of a better result on the table at any point, Charles Leclerc said:
"I was pushing 200% the whole race I don't think I left anything on the table. So no I just think They had a bit more pace towards the end, but I also had pushed a lot behind them to try and get as close as possible. I had to because otherwise I would lose DRS and without the DRS I was dead slow. So it was a bit of a tough race to manage, but yeah, I don't think I could have done anything better. It was just a bit of shame to get stuck behind Oscar that had the DRS exactly at the point, where I was catching up Oscar and that made it very difficult for us.”
Further, he was asked whether he was aware of Antonelli’s penalty when he was backing away on the final two laps, he replied:
“Yes. Again i i gave 100 % until the really end and there wasn't anything I left on the table so.”
Charles Leclerc was confused with Ferrari's strategy during the Las Vegas GP
Charles Leclerc suggested that Ferrari’s strategy in the Las Vegas GP needs to be reviewed after a sequence of calls left him confused. The Monegasque admitted he was unsure how Oscar Piastri emerged ahead of him after the first round of pit stops, despite Leclerc feeling he had been in control of the situation on track.
Leclerc suspected that McLaren may have executed an undercut strategy with Piastri, which ultimately allowed the Australian to gain track position and run ahead in the second stint.
The Ferrari driver felt there was a need to revisit the strategy decisions with the team to fully understand how the race unfolded as it did. Asked if his strategy cost him the most, Charles Leclerc said:
“Yeah, I mean, it's more with Oscars well because I think Oscar was behind me after the first thing. I can't remember. There was many cars around, but I thought that and then obviously he undercut us. So this is something we've got to look back but i'm not so sure of what i'm saying. I think that in the car I was surprised to see Oscar in front which i thought he was behind before the stop, so we will review that.”
Charles Leclerc eventually finished fourth in Las Vegas after Oscar Piastri’s disqualification, adding valuable points to his championship tally. The Ferrari driver now sits fifth in the standings with 226 points. Ferrari remains fourth in the constructors’ championship, 13 points behind Red Bull Racing and 36 points adrift of Mercedes. The Maranello outfit is still firmly in the fight for second place, with two races and one sprint weekend left on the calendar.
Ferrari have not finished outside the top three in the constructors’ standings since 2021; the last time they ended lower was in 2020, when they placed sixth. For most of the 2025 season, they were comfortably inside the top three and held second place until the Mexican GP, after which their dip in form dropped them to fourth.With a tight points spread between Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari, the closing rounds will determine whether the Scuderia can recover second place or at least secure another top-three finish.
