Charles Leclerc has urged Ferrari to stay “cautious” about their possibilities forward of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Ferrari, which has exceeded efficiency expectations in comparison with Mercedes at current high-speed circuits comparable to Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps, the place Leclerc took his first win of the season, seems more and more prone to problem for victory in Budapest.
The tight and technical Hungaroring circuit ought to swimsuit the cornering energy of Ferrari’s SF-26 automobile. In the meantime, Lewis Hamilton holds the document for many pole positions and wins in Hungary. On high of that, Leclerc took pole place ultimately yr’s Hungarian Grand Prix in a far much less aggressive Ferrari.
Leclerc urged Ferrari to stay ‘cautious’
However the Monaco rider, who completed lower than two seconds behind Belgium’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli, refuses to be carried away by the concept that Ferrari can beat Mercedes to victory.
“It might occur, it couldn’t occur, and we cannot know till we go there. I believe it’s totally troublesome to foretell the extent of efficiency of each staff,” Leclerc burdened.
“I keep in mind very properly what the overall ambiance was like earlier than Monaco, after which we obtained there and the efficiency was worse than everybody anticipated. So I believe we have to be cautious. We simply need to do our homework, similar to we do at some other circuit.”
“What we did notably properly within the final two weeks was ensuring we obtained essentially the most out of our package deal. That is the mindset now we have to take care of in Budapest as properly, with out interested by expectations.”
Requested what he anticipated from Hungary, Ferrari staff principal Fred Vasseur jokingly stated: “Nothing! As a result of I believe everybody will deliver upgrades subsequent week and we do not know the entire efficiency image. Everyone seems to be working arduous.”
“You confirmed a number of efficiency by way of tire administration, tire preparation, setup, monitor format. For those who do the identical qualifying job you probably did this weekend, I believe it would repay, nevertheless it’s not a given. It isn’t a given for us, and it isn’t a given for anybody else. Each weekend we begin from scratch.”
“Actually, on paper, a format like Silverstone or Spa might be a bit harder than others. However alternatively, in Monaco, we have not shone. Which means now we have to maintain pushing and maintain the identical strategy and by no means assume it’ll be straightforward, as a result of it by no means is.”
Leclerc “nonetheless not on the degree he desires to be”
Leclerc returns to successful methods at Silverstone
Leclerc loved sturdy runs over the weekend at Silverstone and Spa, ending forward of Hamilton in each qualifying and the race.
Regardless of his exceptional enchancment in kind, Leclerc insists he’s nonetheless “not fairly there” by way of efficiency.
“I can confidently say that I’ve made a step ahead. Whether or not I am on the degree I wish to carry out or not, it isn’t but,” he stated.
“The automobile nonetheless has some driving to do, it could actually’t drive utterly naturally and that slows it down in some components of the race.
“So we nonetheless have a number of work to do to get higher. However we have undoubtedly made progress and I am pleased with that.”
“I’ll proceed to strategy it one race at a time, as a result of with these automobiles, if one race weekend goes properly, it’s totally troublesome to make sure that the opposite race weekend will go properly too, as a result of it will depend on so many particulars.”
“In my driving, you by no means get the identical improvement lap after lap, and that may be the irritating factor about these automobiles.”
