Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen battled wheel-to-wheel in the first part of the Bahrain Grand Prix, but the Ferrari driver had the last word thanks to a tactic that he managed to pull off three times in a row.
Seventeen laps into the race, after the pair's first round of pit stops, Verstappen had gotten close enough to rely on his DRS to outpace Leclerc and snatch the lead on the run down to Sakhir's Turn 1.
But the Ferrari charger returned the favor on the stretch between Turn 3 and Turn 4.
An epic fight ensued for several laps, with the reigning world champion repeating the same move on the main straight only for his rival to use the same tactic and outrun him into Turn 4.
Leclerc later revealed that he had purposefully barked early into Turn 1 to allow Verstappen through, knowing that he would be able to regain the lead a few corners up the road, thanks to his DRS, and hold his own thereafter for the remainder of the lap.
"I was always behind him for [only] one corner and overtook him back into Turn 4," explained Leclerc, who conquered in Bahrain his third career win in F1.
"It was tricky but it was nice. It was on the limits, hard racing, but we always gave each other space, which was nice. It was always very close.
"I would always try to brake very early into Turn 1 to get the DRS for Turn 4, and it worked out, three times in a row, so then I could keep my lead!"
Leclerc revealed that his intense fight with Verstappen wasn't just about managing his DRS or track positioning. It also required some coordinated energy management.
"It was also very tricky because I was struggling quite a lot with my energy and had to manage that too," he said.
"But then after the third lap [of overtaking] I was in a better window with it and could push again to have a bit of margin to manage my race."
In his rival's corner, Verstappen was asked about his thoughts on his scrap with Leclerc.
"It was alright, I think overall I didn’t have a great balance to attack but I had two attempts or more less with the DRS," said the Dutchman.
"It was fun, I had a good battle. Charles is a good racer as well so it was good fun out there."
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