Leclerc's Throttle Was Stuck at "20 to 30 Percent" on the Austrian Grand Prix

The final two months have been a relentless stumble from one calamity to a different for Scuderia Ferrari, as the long-lasting Italian group makes an attempt to chase down Red Bull Racing within the Formula One factors standings. This previous weekend, F1 visited the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix. The occasion was sadly marred by incidents of rampant harassment in spectator areas, however the race itself was one other tense duel between Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen.

Differing tire methods throughout the 71-lap race meant that Leclerc needed to go Verstappen on-track three separate events to win the race. However, reliability grew to become the Monégasque driver’s primary opponent throughout the closing laps. It appears to be a development for Leclerc: Power unit failures took him out of rivalry for race wins in Spain and Azerbaijan this season.

During the post-race press convention, Leclerc stated:

“Yeah, it was a really good race. I mean, the pace was there at the beginning and we had some good fights with Max and the end was incredibly difficult. I had this problem with the throttle, and it would get stuck at 20 or 30% throttle in the low speed [corners]. So it was very tricky. But we managed to make it stick until the end. And I’m so happy.”

It was clear that Leclerc was scuffling with some form of engine challenge close to the top, however he was capable of cross the end line first, taking his third race victory of the season. Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz was not as lucky. On lap 57, the engine in Sainz’s Ferrari failed and burst into flames. This led to a harrowing scene the place the Spaniard tried to flee his Ferrari because it rolled backwards in the direction of the observe. Sainz was capable of get his burning Ferrari to cease by turning it up in opposition to the barrier.

Charles Leclerc now trails Max Verstappen by 38 factors within the World Drivers’ Championship. Formula One will return in 13 days for the French Grand Prix at Circuit Paul Ricard.