Leclerc: We exceeded our expectations in Qatar

Charles Leclerc is happy with the results of the Qatar Grand Prix and is looking forward to the final battle in Abu Dhabi…

Question: Charles, who started fifth, you finished the race second. Exceeded your expectations?
Charles Leclerc: Yes. We thought the McLaren cars would be very fast in the race, but we were going to have problems. We may not have expected Max to be so strong, but it was nice to finish second at the end of a weekend where track conditions were far from optimal for our car.

In my opinion I was lucky in this race. Carlos had some bad luck with a puncture, but overall it was a positive weekend for the team. So yes, we exceeded our expectations, I expected to lose a few points to McLaren and in the end I was even able to gain them back.

Q: How much did Ferrari improve over the weekend?
Charles Leclerc: On Friday and Saturday we optimized everything we could. We knew it wouldn’t be our strongest weekend, but we decided to focus on ourselves and try to get the best result for us. And everything worked out. We can be happy now, but we have to figure out how to achieve more on these types of tracks in the future.

Question: What happened to the drinking system? We heard there was a problem before the start…
Charles Leclerc: I didn’t drink during the race, but there were no problems. Last year this would have become a very serious problem. Without water I simply couldn’t have finished it, but this time it wasn’t hot, I didn’t get dehydrated. I attacked from the first to the last lap without any problems. But the strain on the neck muscles was just as great as a year ago. Physically it was tough.

Question: For the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Ferrari is 21 points behind McLaren. You are only eight points behind Lando Norris in the individual rankings. How competitive will Ferrari be in the next race?
Charles Leclerc: It’s hard to say. In theory we should look better than in Qatar. Because in terms of race pace… In Qatar we were very lucky, if Lando had not experienced what happened we would have been behind. And without the safety car we would be left behind. We lacked race pace.

Things should be better in Abu Dhabi, but we’ll see. There aren’t many points between us. We will focus on ourselves and try to make the most of all opportunities. I hope we bring the title back to Maranello.

Q: What about the Drivers’ Championship? Do you think second place is important?
Charles Leclerc: That would be great. Second place is better than third, but worse than first. But in a year like this, when the team was going through tough times, it’s really nice to come second. I will do everything I can to achieve this. But the Constructors’ Championship is more important.

Question: Were you surprised that the safety car came out just a few laps after the mirror was left on the tarmac at the end of the straight? What do you think of this situation?
Charles Leclerc: I don’t know how visible it was on TV, but we didn’t see it in the cockpit. I didn’t know where the mirror was. I didn’t know it was a mirror. Everything became clear when someone caught him and there was rubble everywhere. I don’t think it was that bad.