The Monaco driver was driving a Ferrari 1-2 over teammate Carlos Sainz Jr after Verstappen suffered a fuel system failure on his Red Bull, forcing him to retire late as he had been battling Leclerc earlier in the race for victory.
The pair traded overtakes for the lead on three consecutive laps during the first stint, with Verstappen taking the lead with DRS at turn one before Leclerc took the run lead again towards turn four.
During the post-race press conference, Leclerc explained how he tried to stay in the DRS range by braking early in turn one, thereby ensuring that if Verstappen did get ahead, he could instantly fight back on the next straight.
This tactic eventually allowed Leclerc to break away from Verstappen as well when the Dutchman blocked and ran wide in a bad pass in turn one, allowing the Ferrari driver to stay ahead and continue with DRS to increase his lead.
“I only followed in turn 2 as I was only one turn behind and then overtook Max back into turn 4, it was difficult but enjoyable nonetheless,” Leclerc said after taking his first victory Ferrari in Formula 1 after the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix.
“It was a limit, a tough race, but we will always give each other space and that was nice.
“Following him into turn two was a little more predictable than what I expected or what I had last year, so it was good, but it was always very close.
“I always tried to brake very early in turn one to get DRS for turn four and it worked three times in a row so I could keep the lead.
“It was also very difficult because I was struggling with my energy quite a lot and I had to deal with that too, but then after the third lap [of overtaking] I was in the best window with it and could press again to have some headroom to manage my race.”
Leclerc eventually came out on top against Verstappen, who later retired.
Photo: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Leclerc was also able to keep the gap on Verstappen during the pit stop cycles, with Red Bull trying to cut twice to try to put the reigning F1 world champion ahead after Leclerc pitted.
When asked what he thought of the Leclerc fight, Verstappen said: “It was ok, I think overall I didn’t have good balance to attack, but I had two tries or more with DRS.
“It was fun, I had a good fight with Charles.”
He later added, “Charles is also a good racer, so it was fun.”
Adam Cooper also contributed to this report
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