Leclerc: Fourth in F1’s 70th Anniversary GP "feels like a victory"

Charles Leclerc says his fourth-place finish at the 70th Formula 1 Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone "feels like a victory".

On the back of his podium finish, Leclerc recovered from eighth place to finish fourth behind race winner Max Verstappen and the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

Leclerc was one of two drivers to finish inside the top eight to opt for the one-stop strategy - a strategy call which allowed him to jump the two Racing Points.

Reflecting on his P4 at Silverstone, Leclerc said: "I am extremely happy today. It feels like a victory. It’s not great to say that once you finish fourth but the reality is we are not quick enough today, but today was very impressive.

"I don’t know where we found our pace but we were very quick on the hard tyres, especially towards the end of the stint. Extremely happy with the job we did today."

Leclerc hailed his and the team’s decision to opt for a one-stop strategy, with the majority of his competitors opting for two stops.

"Yesterday was a very difficult day but today was a very good day," Leclerc added. I think the strategy played an important part in our result today. I pushed quite a lot of the team to make this one-stop work.

"I think everyone was pretty scared after what happened last week with the tyres blowing and everything, but we made it work. I am also happy with the progress I have made with the tyre management."

The result means Leclerc moves up to fourth in the drivers’ championship ahead of Lando Norris.