Charles Leclerc recalls intense frustration after losing the Austrian Grand Prix to Max Verstappen’s aggressive late-race move – a controversial moment that not only cost him a long-awaited victory, but also sparked tensions between two of Formula 1’s fiercest rivals.
Charles Leclerc will return to the site where he was denied a first Formula 1 victory by Max Verstappen in 2019 at the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend.
The Monegasque driver is now competing in his seventh season for Ferrari, but is yet to win a landmark first drivers’ championship.
In fact, Leclerc is under contract with them until the end of the 2029 season, when he will be 32 years of age.
By then, he will have been with the Scuderia for 10 years. He has worked tirelessly to bring success back to the Maranello-based Formula 1 team.
Leclerc feels strongly against leaving Ferrari, despite their lack of progress in recent times. It would have been easy to turn his back on them and sign elsewhere.
However, he isn’t one to give up. Leclerc is now taking action at Ferrari, and it could reap major benefits compared to teammate Lewis Hamilton in the future.
Photo by Kym Illman/Getty Images
Charles Leclerc was once ‘angry’ at Max Verstappen for Austrian Grand Prix move
Leclerc could activate a Ferrari exit clause if they fail to deliver a competitive car for the 2026 F1 regulations, which are some of the biggest changes in the history of the sport.
The last big changes saw them flirt with being title contenders in 2022, and the same happened with major alterations in 2019, too.
That was Leclerc’s first season with Ferrari, where he claimed two victories en route to fourth place in the championship.
At the Austrian Grand Prix, he might have secured his first win at the time, but was forced off the track by Max Verstappen at the hairpin, who went on to win, despite receiving a penalty.
Understandably, Leclerc was upset at the move and told CNN after the race that he felt the overtake was ‘unfair’ on him.
“I’m angry,” he said. “Feeling it from the inside, it was an unfair move, but I need to watch it to understand the full situation. On the first try, he left me with a car’s width and on the second move, he didn’t.”
How much longer did Charles Leclerc have to wait for his first F1 victory after the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix?
After his Spielberg frustration, Leclerc would fight intensely with Verstappen at the following round at Silverstone, securing another podium.
After that, he would retire from a promising position at Hockenheim, sliding off the track in the wet, before a rather quiet race in Hungary.
In Belgium, just three races after being forced off the circuit by Verstappen in Austria, he would make his counter move.
As Verstappen retired on lap one due to contact at turn one, Leclerc dominated the longest circuit on the calendar to secure a maiden victory on an emotional weekend for him.
It was a touching tribute to close friend Anthoine Hubert.
