Charles Leclerc finished second in Melbourne, helping Ferrari to its 86th victory double in the team’s history. The Monegasque commented on the results of the third stage of the season and paid tribute to his teammate Carlos Sainz.
Question: For the first time since 2004, Ferrari won the winning double in Melbourne. How important is this result for team morale? Does this confirm the SF-24’s potential?
Charles Leclerc: Oh, extremely important, because it’s been a long time since we had the pace to fight Red Bull.
I wouldn’t say we have everything under control because we don’t know what pace Max could have today, but after the first practice I said pole and victory this weekend are very possible. We controlled tire wear well and showed good pace, which can be considered a promising sign.
However, if we look back at the three races of the season, Red Bull won in two races, so we still have a lot of work to do. But the team needed this result. When there is an opportunity to win, we have to take it – and we did that, Carlos did it today.
As for me, I finished second and showed the best lap – the team got the maximum number of points. And if we remember the first three stages of the season, there wasn’t a single race where we didn’t achieve the maximum possible. We have to keep doing this until our car is consistently better than the Red Bull car, especially in the race.
Question: Could you do something today to force your partner to fight for victory?
Charles Leclerc: I just should have done better. I wasn’t good enough in qualifying yesterday. Today during the second stint of the race, the first stint for the Hard set, my front tire granulated quite heavily after the virtual safety car. The last segment was good, but it wasn’t enough.
Carlos did better than me this weekend. The situation has not changed in the past three years. If we get to a certain point and Carlos proves to be better, then I attack harder and at the next stage I perform better. This is how we push each other forward. It’s great for any driver to have such a fast teammate. And Carlos was fast from the start of the weekend, so congratulations Carlos.
Question: Do you think Carlos is underestimated as a driver?
Charles Leclerc: I think everyone in the paddock knows what Carlos is worth. He is one of the highest rated racers. Every time he gets behind the wheel of Formula 1, he is extremely strong, and he has proven that time and time again.
I don’t think Carlos is underestimated because everyone knows what he can do. That is why I have repeatedly said that I am not concerned about his future. I’m sure many team managers… Carlos doesn’t say it, but there’s no doubt many team managers contacted him! And I’m sure he will get many more opportunities. He just needs to choose the best option for his career.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
