F1 2020: Fourth 'feels like a victory' for Ferrari's Leclerc

Silverstone, Aug 9: Charles Leclerc celebrated a fourth-placed finish at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, claiming the result felt "like a victory" in his faltering Ferrari car.

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The Scuderia are struggling in 2020 but Leclerc was pleasantly surprised by the pace in his SF1000 at Silverstone on Sunday.

With a number of his rivals - including both Mercedes cars - suffering in testing conditions for tyres, Leclerc required just one stop, a strategy shared by Renault's Esteban Ocon and Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen.

" title="Hamilton grateful to salvage second after 'hardcore’ tyre issues
" />Hamilton grateful to salvage second after 'hardcore’ tyre issues

Having started eighth on the grid, Leclerc was delighted with the achievement, even if fourth represents a modest prize compared to Ferrari seasons past.

"I'm so happy today. For me, it feels like a victory," Leclerc told Sky Sports. "It's not looking good once we call a fourth place a victory, but at the moment it's where we're at.

"Last year, I think my weakest point was the tyre management and I've worked very hard. Every time that I work, and I see the results on track, it's a huge satisfaction.

"To get fourth place today... I expected to go eighth in a best-case scenario this morning - or further down the grid. I'm extremely happy with fourth place.

"We were very happy and, to be honest, we need to analyse to understand why we were so quick, because I don't really understand for now."

However, while Leclerc was pleased with a result that took him up to fourth in the drivers' standings, things went from bad to worse for team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

In his final season at Ferrari, the four-time world champion could only manage 12th and claimed his strategy "didn't make any sense".

Asked why he trailed so far behind Leclerc in the same car, Vettel added to Sky Sports: "I don't know. I guess something's there that I am missing.

"I'm not sure what it is. Nevertheless, I get out of bed and try to do the best that I can.

"For sure, today, we could have been higher up. With my side, there was the spin - I'm not quite sure what happened there - and also the strategy we could have recovered better.

"The main difference is that we didn't have clean races from when we started. He had a couple of clean races so far."