Charles Leclerc: I was a bit lucky in Mexico

      Charles Leclerc finished second in Mexico, holding off Max Verstappen's attacks in the final laps…

      Question: Charles, second place — your best result since Monaco. Are you satisfied with the race result and the weekend overall?

      Charles Leclerc: Very pleased. A positive weekend. I don't think we expected to repeat what we achieved in Austin.

      We knew that in Austin everything clicked, even though we didn't have the same pace as McLaren or Red Bull. The podium in Austin was a pleasant surprise, but here we managed to climb one step higher.

      A really good weekend. We've long since switched focus to the 2026 car, which doesn't help much right now, but thanks to two perfectly executed weekends we managed to score two consecutive podiums. That's nice.

      Question: At the end of the race Max was closing in on you. Were you happy when they announced the Virtual Safety Car?

      Charles Leclerc: Yes, I was very happy when they announced the VSC for the last two laps. I think without it Max had a better chance to pass me than I did to stay ahead. Especially on the Medium tyres, the car behaved much worse on them.

      I really wanted to do the race with two pit stops, but I don't know what would have been better. In the end I just stayed on what I had, that is the Mediums, and tried to get the result — and we did. Max got very close. I was a bit lucky, but I'm proud I held on.

      Question: What were you thinking at the first corner? From the outside the situation looked very tense…

      Charles Leclerc: It was. And I didn't like it. I usually like the fight, but in that case, being between Lewis and Max, I was in one of those situations where a driver can do almost nothing. All you could do was pray that Max and Lewis would leave me enough room. I clipped Lewis slightly. Then on the outside line there was very poor grip, and I had to cut the corner. Luckily for the three of us, it had no consequences.

      Question: Ferrari have moved back into second place in the Constructors' Championship with a one-point advantage. Is the car fast enough to keep that position until the end of the season?

      Charles Leclerc: It will be very, very difficult. If everything goes like in the last two weekends, then yes. If it's like it was before, then no. We need to focus on every race and perform perfectly, like in the last two races.

      It's very difficult to perform at that level consistently, but that's the standard we must aim for. I hope that will be enough to finish second in the Constructors' Championship.