Charles Leclerc felt the safety car was responsible for costing him a chance for victory after the Las Vegas Grand Prix. 

The Ferrari driver, who finished 2nd, had led the race and looked like he had a good chance of winning until the safety car came out on lap 26 due to debris on track. 

Having only pitted five laps prior, the Monegasque stayed out as his rivals came in for fresh tyres, putting Leclerc on the back foot and resulting in him being overtaken by Max Verstappen, who went on to win. 

Leclerc said: “We got unlucky with the safety car; it was only five laps after we had boxed. 

“But it is the worst moment for the tyres because you start to warm them up, and then you cool them down, and it is very difficult to re-start the tyres and re-warm them. 

“We struggled for the second half of the race, which is a shame.” 

Despite the setback, the 26-year-old managed to finish strongly by overtaking Sergio Perez on the final lap to secure 2nd place on the podium. 

Following the race, Leclerc admitted he was very pleased with his performance. 

He said: “I didn’t leave anything on the table. I maximised everything. 

“As much as I am very tough on myself when I make a mistake, I recognise when I do a good job myself and this was a really, really good race and I’m really happy.”