Raymond Anderson4 said:You picked a screenshot from the exact moment they were side-by-side.
Watch the video instead; it gives a much clearer picture.
If we just rely on screenshots, it’ll look like the people defending themselves are in the wrong 98% of the time.
It’s not even about the defense...
The thing is, Leclerc's entry into that corner was almost as natural as Ricci's...😁
Honestly, I have no clue what he was thinking or what kind of wildly optimistic logic led him to believe he could dive through that corner, let alone pull off an overtake.
Technically, he did fine because he didn't lose anything, but he could've easily been wrecked. He could've been easily shoved sideways or hit from behind after a move like that—not just by Vettel or Max, but potentially by his own teammate coming back onto the track, or even that Haas behind Max, and that would be it...
Expecting someone to brake or move off the racing line during a race start is pretty delusional and naive, even if it is a teammate...
And Leclerc could have taken that corner normally if Vettel and Max had simply decided to brake, swerved off the racing line, or just vanished into thin air...
Richard Walker38 said:That's how he used to charge in like a maniac against others last season. We'll just remember how he screwed himself up diving at Hamilton and spinning out after contact, and we'll also remember the situation with Max, which is pretty similar to this one—except Max didn't back down then...
Except there's one tiny difference: this time it's Leclerc charging in like a maniac where there's zero space, not Vettel...
The situation with Max is the polar opposite of this...
Meaning, Leclerc is in Vettel's shoes here, and Vettel is in Max's...
Because as far as I recall, Vettel also forced his way inside Max mid-corner, right into his racing line...
Both were over-optimistic attempts to pass.
Only difference is that the Vettel vs Max duel was a direct fight without anyone else around, so Max knew exactly what Vettel was doing and didn't need to worry about anything else...
On the other hand, this is a race start where there's total chaos everywhere, so it's not exactly brilliant to force it like Leclerc did to Vettel...
What Leclerc did was classic: you can't win a race in the first few hundred meters, but you can certainly lose it...
Nicholas Newman2 said:That’s exactly where he screwed up. Instead of letting Leclerc battle Max, he just focused on building a gap and burning through those hard tires.
It’s easy to play general after the race is over...
And yeah, I totally agree that it would have been the smart move for Vettel, but who knows how much Vettel actually expected Leclerc to be breathing down his neck right there...
In my opinion, he was way too preoccupied with what Max was doing to even realize Leclerc was trying to muscle him out on the outside...
