Leclerc has no complaints about Verstappen sprint 'squeeze'

Charles Leclerc started the US GP sprint race from second place on the front row of the grid, but when he tried to make a bid to take the lead he ended up being squeezed out in the run down to the first corner when the lights went out.

The emphatic move by pole sitter Max Verstappen nearly forced the Ferrari onto the grass. It gave Lewis Hamilton the opportunity to snatch the position, which the Mercedes driver kept for the rest of the race leaving Leclerc in P3.

But Leclerc had no complaints about the way that Verstappen had forced the issue, and admitted that he would have done much the same if he was in the Red Bull driver's shoes.

“To be honest, I would have done exactly the same if I was in his position,” he admitted," he told the media when interviewed after the finish. “It’s on the limit, but as I’ve always said in the past, that’s the way I like to fight.

"Today this didn’t play in my way, but that’s fine. It’s part of racing and I’m happy with it," he added.

• Read also: Verstappen cruises to sprint win over Hamilton in Austin

"There was an opportunity, there was a gap and I tried," Leclerc said when asked why he had made such a bold attempt to take the lead from Verstappen in the run up the hill into turn 1 at the Circuit of the Americas.

“I still tried around the outside of turn 2, which was quite tricky with cold tyres. And then getting into Turn 3 there was no way for me to keep going without colliding with Lewis, so I just lifted off.”

Hamilton admitted afterwards that he was so focused on holding off Lando Norris into the first corner that he didn't even register Leclerc having been pushed so far wide.

“Honestly, I couldn’t see him,” Hamilton explained. “Going into the corner I had one of the McLarens alongside me. I was just trying not to have a repeat of last race", referring to Qatar where he collided with team mate George Russell.

“Then all of a sudden I come out of the corner and saw Charles there and I was just hoping I was able to pull up alongside and race him," he said. “We were racing all the way down to turn 3. He was in my blind spot, so I was a little bit worried at that point.”

"It was tight and I lost a position to Lewis," Leclerc acknowledged. "But they were a bit stronger on race pace. We expected them to be. We need to work to try and understand what we can do better."

Despite losing out to Verstappen and Hamilton on Saturday, Leclerc still felt that Ferrari now has a 'secret weapon' that bodes well for Sunday's full length Grand Prix race.

His Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz was the only driver in today's sprint to race on the soft compound tyres, with the rest of the field running mediums.

Given that the sprint weekend only has a single practice session - leaving teams with no time to run race-length simulation laps - that could prove to be a potential gold mine in terms of data for the Grand Prix.

"We have quite a lot of data to analyse, having two cars on two different strategies," he said. "This will be a bit of a help for us because we know how the softs are behaving.

"I hope we can take advantage of that and hopefully we can win," he added.

Leclerc has the advantage of being on pole for the Grand Prix, with Verstappen all the way back in sixth place on the grid after a compromised final round of qualifying.

But Verstappen will be on the charge from the moment the lights go out, and will also have to content with Lando Norris and Hamilton in the run down to the first corner - where perhaps he can apply tips gained from Verstappen in the sprint?

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