Charles Leclerc has explained his thoughts behind a Twitter message he shared following the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver's race was over on the first lap after a collision with the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll. Stroll later received a five-place grid penalty for the incident but this was probably little consolation to Leclerc, who had Tweeted following his retirement from the Grand Prix: "Nice bowling game. So frustrating."
https://twitter.com/Charles_Leclerc/status/1421823696000462852
Nice bowling game. So frustrating. — Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) August 1, 2021
When asked about the message later on, Leclerc admitted he had been unhappy with Stroll's move. "I know that sometimes small mistakes can have big consequences," the Monagesque told RacingNews365.com and other select media. "I think though this time it's not really a small mistake. "I couldn't see Lance in my mirrors and he was five or six positions back, so it was quite unrealistic for him to try anything there. "But it's life, it happens. It's very frustrating. Quite unlucky on my side this first part of the season, but it's like this and we'll focus to have a better second half of the season." Leclerc had started the race from seventh on the grid after showing promise in qualifying. Given his strong second-place performance at the recent British Grand Prix, the 23-year-old believes he could potentially have had good pace again at the Hungaroring. "Looking at other cars in front, I feel like - if the pace was there - [we could have] challenged for a win. Obviously in the first lap it is very difficult to know where we would have gone from there." Meanwhile it was a slightly better day for Leclerc's teammate Carlos Sainz, who finished in fourth after losing out on a potential podium position to Lewis Hamilton. The result also means that Ferrari have edged closer to McLaren in the battle for third in the Constructors' Championship. McLaren had a difficult day, with Daniel Ricciardo finishing outside of the points whilst Lando Norris was forced to retire after being hit by Valtteri Bottas in the opening lap chaos at Turn 1.
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