Charles Leclerc is cautiously optimistic after the Canada sprint race. The Monegasque has been trying all weekend to keep up with teammate Lewis Hamilton – in the sprint qualifying Leclerc did not finish behind the world champion – but during the shortened race session he was able to overtake the struggling Brit: ‘Lewis is incredibly strong on this circuit, so I have been trying all weekend to keep up with him’.
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Charles Leclerc was able to gain a position during the sprint race in Canada. The Brit started the shortened session from fifth place, behind teammate Lewis Hamilton, but overtook that same Hamilton at the last moment. After his struggles with the brakes on Friday in Montreal, the Monegasque now sees an upward trend, although he was disappointed that his progress did not earn him a higher finishing position.
“Friday was very difficult for me,” Leclerc tells Formula 1 after the sprint. “I had some problems with the brakes in general, and on a circuit like this, where all the braking points are quite bumpy, that really affected my confidence in the brakes. And on top of that, Lewis is incredibly strong on this circuit. So I have been trying all weekend to keep up with him. But during the race I felt that my race pace was very good, so this makes me optimistic for Sunday, even though it might rain.”
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‘Restoring confidence in the brakes’
The Monegasque therefore also has a clear wish for qualifying later on Saturday. “As far as qualifying is concerned, I mainly hope that I can restore confidence in the brakes, because I have struggled with that this weekend,” Leclerc continues. “It was already better in the sprint race – I hope we can take another step forward in qualifying to at least finish in the top three, and then we’ll see on Sunday.”
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