Mexico City - Charles Leclerc has expressed his relief and gratitude for the late virtual safety car (VSC) that ultimately secured his second-place finish at the Mexico City Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver fought valiantly to hold off a charging Max Verstappen in the closing stages of the race, ultimately benefiting from the neutralization that followed Carlos Sainz's unfortunate retirement.
Leclerc started the race from second position, alongside pole-sitter Lando Norris. An aggressive start saw him battling for the lead into the first corner, a chaotic sequence that he later described with a laugh: "I hated every metre of that first corner!". He managed to slot into second behind Norris, with Verstappen looming large in his mirrors for the majority of the race.
Norris cruised to victory with a comfortable 30-second lead, but the battle for second intensified in the final laps as Verstappen closed the gap to Leclerc. The Monegasque driver defended skillfully, but the pressure was mounting. Just as Verstappen looked poised to launch a decisive attack, Sainz was forced to pull over, triggering the VSC and freezing the gaps.
"The safety car saved me!" Leclerc exclaimed after the race. "Max was very quick, and I was struggling a little bit with the tires towards the end. I was just trying to manage the gap, but the VSC came at the perfect time for us".
Leclerc's podium finish marks his second consecutive top-three result, following his podium in Austin. This result also allowed Ferrari to overtake Mercedes for second place in the Constructors' Championship. Reflecting on his recent performances, Leclerc said: "I think we are doing a really good job at extracting every single bit out of this car... I think we really did everything we could". He also acknowledged that Ferrari had shifted their development focus to next year's car earlier than their rivals.
The Mexico City Grand Prix proved to be a mixed bag for other drivers. Lando Norris secured a dominant victory, marking McLaren's first win in Mexico since 1989. Oliver Bearman in the Haas secured a career-best fourth-place finish. Conversely, Oscar Piastri's fifth-place finish meant losing his lead in the driver's championship to his teammate, Norris. Lewis Hamilton finished in eighth after a difficult race complicated by a 10-second penalty. The Mexican crowd also booed Norris during the ceremony.
The race also had implications beyond the podium battle. F1 commentator David Croft noted the VSC "utterly robbed us" of a thrilling finish for the top positions.
With four races remaining in the 2025 season, the battle for both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships is set to intensify. The next race is the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on November 7-9.
