Charles Leclerc drew positives from his Bahrain Grand Prix performance, in spite of the suspected cylinder failure that denied him a probable maiden Formula 1 win.
Leclerc led the bulk of the race – having battled his way back to the front after dropping from pole position to third at the start – and held a 10-second advantage over Lewis Hamilton after the final round of pit stops.
Bahrain GP: Drivers' Standings | Constructors' Standings
But a loss of straight-line speed, which Ferrari is still investigating but reckons was related to a cylinder problem, cost Leclerc several seconds per lap, and he was unable to retain the lead.
Leclerc thus dropped from first to third and the problem attracted widespread sympathy, but the 21-year-old was eager to take the positives from his weekend-long display.
“It has been an unforgettable weekend for me, to start with qualifying because it was my first pole position and this was thanks to the amazing job of the team,” he said.
“They have given us a great car during the weekend, and of that, they should be proud.
“During the race, I think we were extremely strong and then issues happened and obviously it is a big disappointment not just for me but for the whole team to not finish where we deserved to be.
“We should be happy and proud of what we achieved, work on the issue, and we should be completely confident they will find what the issues are and they will be fixed for the future.”
Leclerc also expressed relief at reaching the finish line after fearing an imminent retirement when he first detected the problem.
“How I felt in the car, I really thought everything would blow up a few laps later,” he said.
“Happily it has not been the case and we still finished third, so yeah, just a loss of power, completely, very sudden.
“It got a tiny bit better after but the problem stayed there. And there were no signs before it to feel that anything was going wrong.
“It’s still a podium and it’s my first podium in Formula 1 so in a way I feel I should enjoy it.
“It’s not the ideal race we wanted but we shall be happy about our third place despite the problems.”
Leclerc also gained the additional point on offer for the race’s fastest lap and holds fourth position in the standings, 18 points behind title leader Bottas.
