It wasn’t easy for the particular Ferrari driver as he had to overtake Red Bull’s Verstappen three times to claim his first spot atop the podium because the Australian GP in April.
Despite difficulties with his throttle close to the end of the competition, Leclerc was able to hang on, finishing 1 . 532 seconds ahead of second place.
The victory ends a rotten run of form for the 24-year-old — having missed out on the particular podium in the previous five races.
It also cuts Verstappen’s business lead at the top of the driver’s championship standings to 38 points as the Ferrari driver goes into second place ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.
After the race, Leclerc stressed how important the victory was regarding him.
“It was a really good race, ” a relieved Leclerc said. “The pace was there, in the beginning, we had some good arguements with Max and the end was incredibly difficult. I had this problem with the throttle plus it would get stuck at 20 or 30% throttle in the reduced speed, so it had been very tricky but we managed to make it stick until the finish and I’m therefore , so happy.
“I definitely needed that one. I mean, the last five events have been incredibly hard for myself also for the team certainly, and to finally show that we’ve got the particular pace in the car and that we can do it is incredible, and we need to push till the end. ”
It could very well have been a Ferrari one-two but , because the end of the race approached, with 14-laps to go, a fire pennyless out in Carlos Sainz’s car as a result of an engine failure, ending his race prematurely.
“It’s difficult to find the right words, ” Sainz wrote on Twitter. “A 1-2 was pretty straightforward but we had to retire. Good amount of points dropped for both championships but I’m feeling better and much better in the car. Congrats to Charles for the win! We’ll keep pushing. ”
Despite being back by thousands of Dutch fans, Verstappen was unable to claim what is a third-straight victory in the Red Bull Ring, Leclerc’s speed simply too much for your pet to handle.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was your beneficiary of Sainz’s retirement, as he shifted from fourth in order to third.
Despite a torrid start to the growing season, it’s the 37-year-old’s third podium finish in a row, as he enhanced from his 8th position starting spot.