Charles Leclerc: I’m sure it will go well this weekend

In Montreal and Barcelona, ​​Ferrari’s pace was below the expectations of the Scuderia fans and the team itself. On Thursday in Spielberg, Charles Leclerc expressed confidence that the team will return to the battle for the top positions this weekend.

Charles Leclerc: “In Barcelona we were about two to three tenths of a second behind the pole time, but I know the car has potential. We just need to optimise the car to get back to the positions we want to be in. We didn’t manage that in Montreal, especially with the tyres in those conditions, and in Barcelona we were just not quick enough.

The preparation for the Austrian Grand Prix on the simulator has gone well, so I am confident that we will be back in contention.

We are struggling mainly in long, slow corners, of which there are fewer at Spielberg than at other circuits. This is a good sign for us, but the team has also worked on making the car more efficient in these types of corners. We had made good progress in the previous races, but we were struggling in other types of corners.

We are working on putting all the pieces together. I am confident that things will go well this weekend.”

Before this year’s stage in Spielberg, gravel was placed in some corners to make it easier to check compliance with the circuit’s boundaries. When asked to comment on these innovations, Charles said: “I find this interesting. In turns nine and ten, which are now on gravel, it was difficult to determine the boundaries of the track while driving, but now everything is very clear. We won’t have a problem with that anymore, and that’s good.

But first I have to drive along the highway to say what exactly I think of these innovations. In theory this is a positive change.”

Charles Leclerc criticized his teammate Carlos Sainz after the race in Barcelona. In Spielberg, journalists asked Charles to return to this topic: “What happened in Barcelona did not affect our relations in any way. On Sunday evening we returned together on the same plane and that was a good reason to meet again.

We talked and everything is fine. From the outside the problem seems far-fetched. We know each other well and there can be friction after the race, because we are both tense right after the fight, but then we talked and that’s okay.

This has happened in the past in racing and it can happen in the future, but every time Carlos and I managed to solve everything by talking. And now it is the same, I have no worries about it.”