F1 News: Charles Leclerc Reflects On Lost Las Vegas GP Win

Charles Leclerc apologized for finishing P2.

Reflecting on a lost Las Vegas Grand Prix race win, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc apologized for not being able to win, despite a pole position start to the inaugural race. Fortunately, a last-minute overtake on Red Bull driver Sergio Perez ensured the P2 wasn't going anywhere.

Despite starting from pole position, the staggering pace of Max Verstappen's RB19 was just too much to compete with. However, if you look at the bright side, the Las Vegas GP offered such great racing that the grid was tighter than ever. You hear almost every driver say that they enjoyed the race. 

The high-speed track also enabled drivers like Esteban Ocon to finish P4 from P14, followed by a P5 finish from Lance Stroll. Despite the P2, Leclerc put on a great fight for the win, making him worthy of the Driver of the Day award from fans. 

Though Verstappen was punished with a five-second penalty after he pushed Leclerc wide in Turn 1 of the opening lap, that wasn't enough to stop him from continuing his winning streak. 

Leclerc maintained the lead for several laps but, a safety car caused both Verstappen and Perez to put on fresher tires, which helped them squeeze every bit of performance from their cars and ultimately, overtake Leclerc. Speaking to David Coulthard in the post-race interview, here's what Leclerc had to say about his lost race win:

"What a race, I enjoyed it so much.

"Disappointed to finish second, but that was the best we could do. I think Max lost a bit of grip. We had the pace and got him back. We were strong overall, but we just got unlucky with the safety car. Second place with a lot of fight, I enjoyed it.

"The weekend didn't start the way it had to, but I'm so happy it ended that way. No better race for the first race in Vegas. The energy in the city is incredible. I'm sorry about the second place. I gave it all! But we should have more races where the racing is like that. That was enjoyable!"