Charles Leclerc praised for unseen Japanese GP gesture no other driver performed

Charles Leclerc has received widespread praise following Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix after fan footage emerged of his gesture towards Princess Akiko of Japan.

For the second time this season, Leclerc secured a podium finish for Ferrari.

Kimi Antonelli, 19, sealed a historic victory for Mercedes in Japan, becoming the youngest-ever World Championship leader, while Oscar Piastri and Leclerc finished second and third, respectively.

It was an unfortunate race for Leclerc, who made an early pit stop to cover off Lando Norris behind but found himself fifth following a mid-race Safety Car.

"It was a bit of a sweaty one this one," he said after the race. "Obviously with the Safety Car we got a little unlucky so from that moment onwards I knew that I was a little bit on the back foot, especially compared to Kimi and Lewis."

Away from the track, Leclerc showed his class on the Suzuka podium, when he took off his cap and respectfully bowed his head to greet Princess Akiko of Japan.

Akiko, who is the oldest daughter of Prince and Princess Tomohito of Mikasa and the niece of former Prime Minister Taro Aso, was in attendance for the race, just days after making a rare public appearance at the Monaco Rose Ball.

Leclerc's gesture towards the princess has been praised by many.

One fan on social media wrote: "He's from Monaco. He knows how to interact with royalty," while another commented: "Such a class person. I hope he can fight for a championship this season.'

A third said: "I mean he’s the only one on the podium who has a monarchy in his birth country, makes sense that he knows the etiquette."

A fourth wrote: "A true gentlemen. Leclerc is a good dude," and a fifth added: "He's such a prince. What a gentleman."

Charles Leclerc on what Ferrari must improve going forward

Ferrari are currently second in the teams' standings behind leaders Mercedes, but Leclerc believes there is room for improvement.

“There’s a clear thing that we need to improve and this is surely the power unit," he said after Sunday's race in Japan.

“There’s not only that. There’s putting the tyres in the right window, there’s the aero, there’s the chassis, and on that we’ll work flat out to close the gap. But yes, I think the power unit is maybe our main weakness at the moment.”

Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton agreed. “I had a real lack of power, particularly in the second stint," he said.

"I’m full gas, managing where I’m asked to manage and for some reason just lacking power, so I need to figure out if there’s something wrong with the car.”