Charles Leclerc left the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix this Sunday (the 19th) satisfied with Ferrari’s performance, despite finishing in second place. The Monégasque highlighted that the SF-26’s race pace was better than expected and believes the result reinforces the team’s evolution for the upcoming rounds.
After a qualifying session that exposed the car’s limitations, Ferrari managed to contend for the victory at Spa-Francorchamps. Leclerc acknowledged that the deployment of the Virtual Safety Car favored his strategy, but stressed that the performance over the course of the race was also an important factor.
“The deficiencies we expected to have this weekend ended up showing up. After that, we really did everything. Honestly, the start was fun on my part. We had a very strong acceleration after Eau Rouge and that allowed me to overtake both Russell and Verstappen on the straight. It was great,” he said.
“Then, we also had luck with the VSC. I gladly accept that luck! It’s the second weekend in a row… But we can’t forget that luck. We had difficulties on the straights today, but the pace wasn’t bad,” he added.
Leclerc also revealed that he faced a tough moment with the Hard tires, not being able to immediately identify the cause of the drop in performance. “I need to analyze the stint with the hard tires, because there were five or six laps where I had front-end difficulties. I don’t know if the car bumped into anything or if I did something wrong at that moment, but I felt the car was odd. After that, the pace returned.”
In the final phase of the race, the Monégasque managed to keep pace with Kimi Antonelli after being overtaken and believed that he could still fight for the victory. “I was also surprised after the overtake that Kimi performed on me. I thought he would pull away easily, but with the tow, I managed to stay there and believed until the end, but we didn’t have enough speed.”
Looking ahead to the Hungarian Grand Prix, Leclerc believes the track could suit Ferrari, but he avoids calling the team the favorite. “We know that the SF-26 will adapt better to Hungary than to Spa. However, we arrived in Monaco thinking we were the favorites, but Mercedes also showed to have a great car on the more technical circuits. I don’t think Ferrari is the favorite; Mercedes is a step ahead of us, but we will do everything to be in the right place at the right time, should we have the opportunity to win.”
