Charles Leclerc says he is encouraged by the performance improvement from Ferrari’s upgrade at the Belgian Grand Prix after holding Max Verstappen off for a podium finish.
Ferrari introduced a new rear suspension with the intention of being able to run its car at a wider range of ride heights, therefore extracting better performance from its floor. With just one practice session to test the new parts in, Ferrari’s time was limited but Leclerc says it delivered what was hoped for and shows potential for further improvements.
“Honestly, we’ve had what we expected with this upgrade and that’s really positive,” Leclerc said. “We need to keep learning about how to maximize this new upgrade. It’s still pretty new, but it’s a good first weekend and I’m happy that we are on the podium to thank the whole team back in Maranello. We keep pushing and hopefully we’ll put a bit more pressure on the McLarens.
“I’m pleased with the steps forward we are doing, and I think we should all be proud about that because I know that behind that, there’s a lot of work behind the scenes from the people back at home for us to have this upgrade here. It definitely helped us to get the podium when you see how close it was with Max today.
“However, we are all aware that this is not enough, and we need to keep pushing in order to be closer to the McLaren. This is very clear for the whole team. It doesn’t change that we shall be satisfied with what we’ve done this weekend.”
Leclerc was under pressure from Verstappen early in the race but was able to pull clear of the Red Bull before things closed up again in the final laps, and he believes the weather played a major part.
“It’s nice,” he said. “I don’t think we expected it, especially after the Sprint qualifying when I saw the gap with the top three. I was like, ‘OK, it’s going to probably be the best we can do this weekend.’ Yesterday, we did a really good lap.
“We did take a little bit of a gamble with the lower downforce compared to people around us, and then the rain today was tricky. The first part of the race was very difficult and Max definitely was faster than me. I had to keep him behind there, which we did. Once we went on the slicks, things came a bit more toward me. I just knew I had to do the job and P3 could be ours, which at the end it is, and I’m very happy.”
