Charles Leclerc claimed a surprise second-place finish at the Mexico City Grand Prix, holding off a late charge from Max Verstappen to secure back-to-back podiums and move Ferrari above Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship.
Starting from second on the grid, the Monegasque driver was caught in a four-way fight for the lead into Turn 1, alongside Lando Norris, Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. After the jostling at the start, Leclerc settled into P2 behind Norris, but the race was anything but straightforward from there.
As the 71-lap contest unfolded, Verstappen began to close in during the final stages, armed with fresher soft tyres. A late Virtual Safety Car, however, interrupted the Red Bull driver’s rhythm and allowed Leclerc to maintain his position until the flag.
“Very happy with this weekend,” said the 28-year-old after climbing from his car. “United States was very positive for us but we didn’t know what to expect for this weekend, and to end up again on the podium is a great surprise. Very happy to be on this amazing podium once again.”
Reflecting on how he managed to nurse his tyres to the end, Leclerc admitted that fortune played a role in his result. “I was quite happy about the [Virtual] Safety Car at the end. My tyres were completely gone and I could see Max was coming back on the softer tyre, so it was tough. I think the [Virtual] Safety Car saved me at the end.”
The Ferrari driver also described the dramatic opening seconds of the race with typical honesty. “I hated every metre of that first corner!” he laughed. “There was the start, which wasn’t a great one – strangely that kind of helped me because I don’t think Lando would have come back to the right if I had a good start, so luckily I could have a slipstream.
“But then after that I was just a passenger trying to defend my place. I think Lewis didn’t especially know that there was Max on the outside of me and that created… everything was super, super tight. But luckily my race or Lewis’ race didn’t end up here because I really thought it would.”
The result marks Leclerc’s second consecutive podium after finishing third in Austin, and further cements Ferrari’s late-season form as they move into second place in the teams’ standings. With just four races remaining, Leclerc believes the team are making the most of what they have.
“Yeah, I think we are doing a really good job at extracting every single bit out of this car,” he said. “In the last two weekends I don’t think we’ve got anything to be angry about – I think we really did everything we could. The potential of the car remains the same and we know that in the development race we stopped earlier than the others to focus on next year, but I think we are doing a really good job with what we have.”
Formula 1 heads next to São Paulo for the Brazilian Grand Prix on 7–9 November, where Leclerc will look to continue his strong run and keep Ferrari’s late-season momentum alive.
