Charles Leclerc accepts championship standing now in his hands heading into Abu Dhabi

Charles Leclerc voiced his frustration at not being allowed to pass Carlos Sainz at Interlagos, but has since calmed his stance after the team refused his calls.

Leclerc had an extremely eventful Sao Paulo Grand Prix but had worked his way back up to fourth place on the road in the closing stages, with Ferrari teammate Sainz up ahead in third.

With Leclerc currently locked in a close battle with Sergio Perez to take second place in the Drivers' Championship, he pleaded with the team over the radio to order Sainz to move aside so he could gain three extra points in his fight with the Red Bull driver.

Sainz was able to keep his place and held an approximate three-second advantage over his teammate for most of the final part of the race, and he held on for his ninth podium finish of the season. He finished behind the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton - with the former earning the team's first win of 2022.

Making up ground

Leclerc had to make up plenty of lost ground after being tagged by Lando Norris at Turn 6 in the early laps, being sent sliding towards the barriers after the McLaren made contact with the right-hand side of his bodywork.

Norris was given a five-second time penalty and two penalty points for being found to have caused the collision, and the Ferrari driver was not best pleased after the incident either.

"I thought I had left the space. Well, I'm pretty sure I left the space," Leclerc said of his contact with Norris to Sky Sports F1 after the race.

"I think he lost the rear and then touched me. So yeah, it's a shame. But then after that, it was a good recovery but not enough to obviously challenge for better positions."

With Leclerc having then made his way back through the field, Norris' later