Leclerc reveals tweaks that triggered Ferrari surprise

Ewan Gale
Tuesday 9 August 2022 14:58

Charles Leclerc has been surprised by Ferrari's race pace over the last three races after making alterations over the Austrian Grand Prix weekend.

The Monégasque was defeated by championship rival Max Verstappen in the Austrian sprint before coming back on race day to take his first victory in eight races.

Since then, Leclerc was fastest over the weekend at Paul Ricard but threw away a likely win when crashing out from the lead, whilst in Hungary, he was in a similar position when being hampered by his own strategic team.

But focusing on the positives, Leclerc said: "It looks like we have a strong car.

"What is surprising me the most is our race pace and tyre management since Austria has been good.

"We changed a few things on the Saturday night after the sprint qualifying, especially driving-wise, and this seemed to make quite a step for me so this is positive for the rest of the season."

Sainz praises Ferrari competitiveness

Leclerc's team-mate Carlos Sainz has enjoyed an upturn in form since the Canadian Grand Prix, where he pushed Verstappen for victory in a dramatic finale.

The Spaniard clinched his maiden F1 win at Silverstone and has eradicated the errors that halted his progress early on in the season.

Addressing the competitiveness of the F1-75, Sainz said: "This year we fancy our chances in every circuit that we go to.

"Honestly, the competitiveness of the car is definitely not an issue this year. We are competitive everywhere we go.

"Sometimes it's true that in race pace or in some qualis, Red Bull seem to be a bit quicker. In others, we are quicker and it's a great fight. But yeah, I go into every weekend thinking we can win it."