Arthur Leclerc takes triple win at Mugello

Finley Crebolder

Arthur Leclerc has moved to the top of the Formula Regional European Championship after winning all three races at Mugello.

Wet conditions throughout the weekend ensured that none of the Monegasque’s races were easy, but he overcame the chaos to prevail each time.

第一,这是湿的,他started P4 and quickly took the lead after just three laps. However, he did so under yellow flags and thus was handed a 10-second time penalty. He picked up the pace in response and increased the gap to those behind enough to hold on to victory.

Due to far more changeable conditions, Leclerc pitted twice in race number two, which turned out to be the most dramatic of his victories.

After starting on wet tyres on a drying track, he had to pit early on, dropping him down to the back of the field. He then had to come in and put wets back on when a storm hit. Due to making one more stop than the rest of the field, he was around two minutes off the front of the pack.

However, a Safety Car closed this gap and he secured another win with a move around the outside of Pierre-Louis Chovet with three laps to go.

“What a crazy race, a crazy race,” the younger brother of Charles said after it as performulascout.com.

“I think we did the wrong strategy, in the beginning, to go on wet tyres, then after we had to box we made up a lot of time with the slicks, and it was just like – when I got the slick I was not expecting at all to be fast, I was like: okay, we are starting to manage in P4, maybe P4 is possible.

“But then after the rain came back, we boxed, and we were like – the pace was amazing, the car was amazing, and I cannot believe that I finished P1. I mean it’s for sure the best feeling of my career. I have a short career so it’s easy, but yeah.”

After starting on pole in the third and final race, he faced attacks from his two PREMA team-mates in the opening stages and briefly dropped down to P3.

He managed to reclaim the lead though and just about hold on, coming home a second ahead of team-mate and fellowFerrarijunior driver Gianluca Petecof. He is now eight points clear of the Brazilian in the standings.

Follow us on Twitter@Planet_F1and like ourFacebook page.