Charles Leclerc thought he was on for a podium throughout the Japanese Grand Prix after being confused by a slowing Red Bull that he mistook for Max Verstappen.
Verstappen led from pole position and comf ortably beat the two McLaren drivers at Suzuka, with Leclerc finishing seven seconds adrift of Oscar Piastri in fourth place. However, after overtaking a slow Red Bull during a Virtual Safety Car period – the ailing Sergio Perez who was returning to the pits – Leclerc thought he’d passed Verstappen and was in the top three.
“I didn’t even follow what Max did because I saw him stopping at the safety car or after the safety car – I don’t know what happened there and I thought he wasn’t in the race anymore,” Leclerc said. “So I thought I was doing a podium until the last lap where I actually looked at the board and I was P4!
“They were really strong – Max of course, we expected him to be strong. We expected Checo also, but I don’t know what happened for him and the two McLarens, too.”
Still believing he had passed Verstappen at one stage, a confused Leclerc had to be told during media interviews that it was Perez who had been going slowly.