Leclerc: Max all race within two seconds it’s never easy

While McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris stormed to a dominant one-two, the battle for the final podium spot turned into a tense strategic and psychological standoff between Leclerc and Verstappen - one that lasted from lights-out to chequered flag.

“Max was behind the whole race within two seconds, so it’s never easy,” Leclerc said afterwards. “The first part of the race was the trickiest one for us because we maybe didn’t have the downforce that McLaren or Max had. But luckily, it dried up pretty quickly and then the pace was good.”

Ferrari’s lower downforce setup had helped Leclerc qualify well, but initially left him exposed in the wet. Verstappen loomed large in his mirrors through the early laps on intermediates, yet never found the opening he needed.

“In the wet, probably. He was very, very close to me, but he never actually made it, which is great,” Leclerc said. “Sometimes I was doing a really good lap, and then I would look at the gap and he would do exactly the same lap. I was like, fuck, okay… I just need to keep that pace now.”

The defining moment came on Lap 13 when Ferrari pitted Leclerc alongside Piastri and Verstappen for medium tyres. Verstappen's Red Bull crew nailed the stop, but Ferrari’s efficient release kept Leclerc ahead. One lap later, Norris boxed and rejoined behind the trio, turning the final 20 laps into a defensive masterclass from Leclerc.

With Verstappen constantly hovering in the 1.5-second zone, Leclerc remained composed but admitted to the mental strain. “Obviously the pressure is high, especially in those conditions. As soon as you're 10, 15 centimetres off-line, it’s wet or greasy and you can make a big mistake

"At one point I just told Bryan [his race engineer] to leave me alone. Sometimes I need the information—today I didn’t, and I let him know," added Leclerc, who crossed the line two seconds clear of Verstappen to claim Ferrari’s sixth podium of the season - his third in 2025.

“We took a bit of a gamble with the lower downforce. Max definitely was faster than me at the start, but once we went on the slicks, things came more towards me. I just knew I had to do the job and P3 could be ours and I’m very happy," added Leclerc.