Charles Leclerc celebrates 'very difficult' Austrian Grand Prix win over Max Verstappen after throttle problems

ByAlexander Netherton

Updated 10/07/2022 at 19:45 GMT

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc won the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday to give himself a renewed chance of challenging for the 2022 Formula One championship. However he had to deal with the stress of a late throttle problem, which he explained after the race made for a very tricky finale before he took victory.

Charles Leclerc described his win at the Austrian Grand Prix as ‘incredibly difficult’ after late problems with his throttle.

The Ferrari driver swapped positions with Red Bull driver Max Verstappen throughout the race but was ahead with the final laps to go, only to suffer a problem with his throttle.

That allowed the Dutchman to come back into the race at the death but the Monegasque held off his rival to take the victory.

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Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, Leclerc said: "It was a really good race. The pace was there. At the beginning we had some good fights with Max and the end was incredibly difficult.

“I had this issue with the throttle. It would get stuck at 20 or 30 per cent throttle in the low speeds, so it was very tricky. We managed to make it stick until the end and I am so happy.

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"Weirdly [the throttle issue] was more or less the same time [as Sainz's retirement], so I had it in my mind. I knew it was not a problem with the engine because it was the pedal that was feeling weird. Luckily it went until the end of the race.

"I definitely needed that one. The last five races have been incredibly difficult for myself and for the team. To finally show that we have the pace in the car and we can do it is incredible. We need to push until the end."

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