Charles Leclerc focuses on Jeddah to forget Bahrain
What we see in Jeddah is a motivated Charles Leclerc eager to put the Bahrain race behind, particularly due to the management challenges over 57 laps caused by a tedious brake issue that Ferrari hopes to resolve soon.
Charles Leclerc, fourth in Bahrain, believes he can aim for better results in Saudi Arabia, where Ferrari in 2023 didn’t go beyond sixth and seventh places. However, the Monegasque driver doesn’t want to give false hopes and thinks he can’t compete with Max Verstappen for the victory.
Charles Leclerc’s comments:
“Fighting with Max? Not for now, but I think we are in a much better position compared to 2023 when after the first race, we were trying much more to solve problems instead of focusing on the future,” said the Monegasque in the Jeddah press conference. “It’s not difficult to be optimistic after Bahrain. I’m only focused on our performances; we have to deal with many things within the team, and there is a lot of clarity in the areas to develop. It’s a positive moment since we grew in the second half of last year until this year, after a positive winter where we achieved the set goals. The car is responding exactly as we expected. I can’t wait to hit the track, gather more data, and get updates as soon as possible, hoping to put more pressure on Max than we are putting now.”
“We are optimistic. In the first race, I don’t think we managed to show the potential. I look forward to the weekend to be closer to Max. I don’t know if we can be closer; I don’t think high-speed corners are our main strength. I felt better in medium-speed corners. But I would still wait for a few races to state our strengths and weaknesses.” – he pointed out.
“Brake issues? I don’t expect them”
“We have mainly focused on brakes in the last few days, but we feel ready. I don’t know what to expect yet; it’s challenging to judge after one race, but we will do our best to fight for the victory. In the tests, we didn’t have the brake problems we encountered in the race,” concluded the Monegasque driver, ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. “The problem cost us a lot in terms of time, especially in the first half of the race when driving was very difficult. I don’t expect it to happen again this weekend.”
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