Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc admitted that fans sould not expect “big” improvements as a result of the Maranello team’s upgraded power unit. Charles Leclerc will start the 2021 Russian Grand Prix from the back of the grid due to the fact that Ferrari has decided to replace his engine and use an updated hybrid system starting from the Sochi event.
Charles Leclerc’s grid penalty is actually a consequence of the damage sustained to his engine at the Hungarian Grand Prix, when his SF21 car was hit by the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll.
The Monégasque driver, however, has made clear the new system may not yield the hoped-for major improvement in performance.
“On paper, they say it is a little bit better and obviously, whenever we have something that is a little bit better we try to bring it to the track. We expect it to be a little bit better. We don’t expect any big, big changes but something that goes in the right direction.” – he explained.
With rain forecast for much of Saturday and Sunday, Charles Leclerc is confident there will be chances to work his way back through the order during the Russian Grand Prix: “For now, the forecast says rain. If it is the case then it might be quite an unpredictable race and hopefully it will play in our favour. “If it is dry, I think if we have the pace it is still a track where we can overtake so let’s see how it goes.” – he added.
Asked if he would be doing a rain dance, Charles Leclerc joked: “I’m not very good at dancing but yeah, maybe the rain would be better so I will try to dance on Saturday night.”
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