Charles Leclerc: “The impression that everything was against me”

Has the tide recently turned in favor of Ferrari ? After a series of contrasting results, the Italian team has resumed its best efforts following the convincing successes of Carlos Sainz at Silverstone and Charles Leclerc in Spielberg. The Monegasque intends to confirm this great result on Austrian soil, the stronghold of the team Red Bull. At Castellet, in a Grand Prix which could have the appearance of a home race for the driver from the Principality, we will have to confirm.

In 2021, Ferrari in the tough at Paul Ricard

The victory in Austria almost sounds like the end of a bad patch for Charles Leclerc, who had bad luck in recent weeks. Since the Miami Grand Prix, he had not been on a podium, and saw the gap with the championship leader widen inexorably.

“It was really an important victory [in Austria], after five more complicated races for me, He says. I had the impression that everything was against me, it was important to get this victory and the points that go with it, to get back on Max [Verstappen].

It is now on French soil that the almost tricolor intends to continue its rise, he who is still 38 points behind his main rival.

“It’s only 60 kilometers from my house, explains Charles Leclerc. I didn't come here often before I was a pilot F1, but it's always nice to be there, I hope we have a good weekend. »

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Because if the revival of Ferrari this season allows the Monegasque to play the leading roles again, it is not at Castellet that his car has been very comfortable in recent years. In 2020, although the race did not take place due to the global pandemic, the Italian team came to a sudden halt, before returning to France last year, without managing to score a single point. . Leclerc even finished in sixteenth position, his worst result in 2021.

“For this weekend, we will see because the last two years, it has been complicated. Tire management in particular, we had a lot of difficulty from that point of view, we are going to work hard on that to be ready for the race. »

The Monegasque would do better to go back a few years earlier, to 2019 to be exact, the year of his first stint with the Reds. The Monegasque, impressive in his consistency, finished the race in third position, behind the two Mercedes de Lewis Hamilton et Valtteri Bottas.