Charles Leclerc admits Austrian GP might be “difficult”, but Ferrari “will work hard”. F1 emerges from its three-month coronavirus lockdown.

Formula One emerges from its three-month coronavirus lockdown with Sunday’s new season curtain-raiser, the Austrian Grand Prix.

Pre-season testing suggested that this year Scuderia Ferrari has sacrificed some of last year’s outright straight-line speed for improved pace in slow and medium corners. But the indications from pre-season testing were not entirely positive for the Maranello team, as Charles Leclerc points out ahead of the first race of the 2020 Formula One season:

“The Austrian Grand Prix this year will be difficult. We must keep our feet on the ground because we can’t forget that we had a difficult start to the season in the winter tests in Barcelona. We will work hard and then see where we are.” – the Monegasque driver explained.

Last year at the Austrian Grand Prix Charles Leclerc was close to taking his first Formula One win, but eventually had to settle for second place: “In short, they are not great memories because the win faded away a few laps from the end. From there I learned a lot and changed my driving style, which became more aggressive. “Anyway I don’t think we would have won if I had been more aggressive because we weren’t fast enough.” – Charles concluded.