Charles Leclair says he is encouraged by improving his performance from an upgrade of Ferrari at the Belgian Grand Prix after holding down Max Verstappen for a podium finish.
Ferrari introduced a new rear suspension aimed at driving over a wider range of ride heights, extracting better performance from the floor. With one practice session to test new parts, Ferrari’s time was limited, but Leclerc says it provides what was desired and shows the potential for further improvements.
“To be honest, we had what we expected with this upgrade, but it’s really positive,” Leclerc said. “We need to continue to learn how to maximize this new upgrade. It’s still quite new, but it’s a good first weekend and we’re pleased to be on the podium to thank the whole Maranello team.
“I am pleased with the steps we are moving forward, because we all know that there is a lot of work behind the scenes and we all get this upgrade back home and there is a lot of work behind the scenes.
“But we all realize that this isn’t enough and we need to continue to push to get closer to McLaren. This is very clear to the whole team. We’re happy with what’s going on this weekend.”
Leclerc was under pressure from Verstappen early in the race, but managed to get rid of Red Bull before things closed again on the final lap.
“Like,” he said. “We didn’t expect that after the sprint qualifiers, especially when we saw the top three gaps. Yesterday we had a really good rap.
“We gambled a bit at the lower level compared to the people around us, and the rain today was tricky. The first part of the race was very difficult. Max was definitely faster than me.