Leclerc "confused" by Ferrari's rollercoaster form

Charles Leclerc has conceded to being left "confused" by Ferrari's rollercoaster performances this season.

While there have been more lows than highs for the Scuderia over the 10 grands prix so far, it has left Leclerc struggling to understand the lack of consistency.

Leclerc at least departed the Sochi Autodrom with a solid sixth place under his belt following a strong performance across the Russian Grand Prix weekend, although it was one that was "quite a surprise".

"On Friday [in practice], I did quite a bad job in the car, especially during the race simulation with tyres and pace," assessed Leclerc.

"So I didn’t expect to do such a gentle drive. It was a very good surprise. P6 was definitely the best we could do.

"Obviously, this season hasn’t been so straightforward. Some races, we felt we were good and then at the end, it was pretty bad.

"Then some others, like Sochi, we thought it would go pretty bad and it went a lot better than we thought. [I am] A bit confused about this."

The result was even more pleasing for Leclerc as he has revealed the mental blow of Ferrari's shocking displays on home soil in Italy at Monza and Mugello were tough to take.

"We are coming back from very, very difficult weekends and mentally it was very difficult," added Leclerc.

"Once you do a good start in Mugello and then get overtaken laps after laps, it was very difficult to take.

"So finally, to have a race where you can see positive signs on the car and also for myself because I think I drove well, I’m happy.

"It was one of those days where we have taken the opportunity we had. Extremely happy about this, and now we need to do the same until the end of the season."

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