Leclerc ‘very happy’ with US GP podium after ‘tough second part of the year’
Despite losing out on P2 to Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc was pleased to claim the final spot on the podium at the United States Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc was delighted to claim a podium at the United States Grand Prix amid a “tough second part of the year”, with the Monegasque happy that a “risky” strategy to start on the soft tyres paid off.
While most of the field lined up on the medium compound when the race got underway at the Circuit of The Americas, Ferrari opted to put the C4 soft rubber onto Leclerc’s car in P3. The Monegasque overtook McLaren’s Lando Norris on the opening lap, before defending robustly against the Briton as they fought over P2.
While Norris eventually found a way past, Leclerc soon pitted for the medium tyres – and ended up ahead of Norris again in the latter stages once all of the pack had made their pit stops.
As another close duel unfolded between them, Norris struggled to get ahead of the Ferrari but ultimately made his move into Turn 12 with a few laps remaining. Despite missing out on second place, Leclerc still claimed his first podium since the Belgian Grand Prix in July by taking P3.
Looking back on his race – in which he was the only car in the top 15 to start on the soft tyres – Leclerc conceded: “I was a little bit worried when I saw that I was the only car on softs at the beginning, but I kind of knew that it was a bit of a risky move.
“What I had in mind was to use the softs to try to get free air – it was quite optimistic because we had two cars in front, but that’s what we tried to do.
“We at least gained a position, and that helped us a lot for the rest of the race.”
While he lost out on a place to Norris by the finish, the 28-year-old added of their battle: “I enjoyed it. Unfortunately, today I lost out at the end, but I had fun in the car.”
Having faced some tough moments across recent race weekends – as well as losing mileage during first practice in Austin owing to an issue on his car – Leclerc was particularly pleased with his result.
“I’m very happy overall because it has been a tough second part of the year, and to be back on the podium here after what was a difficult FP1 with a gearbox problem, we did well, so I’m happy,” the eight-time race winner said.
.webp)
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