Leclerc hopes to"put some more pressure on our competitors" after an absolutely faultless weekend at Spa
On the back of a faultless drive at the Belgian Grand Prix, Ferrari's eight-time race winner Charles Leclerc was left to praise the Italian outfit for delivering a crucial upgrade that helped the team raise its competitiveness at Spa.
Ferrari endured an up-and-down weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. While Charles Leclerc delivered an absolutely faultless performance all weekend long, his team-mate Lewis Hamilton struggled to put together his laps in both the sprint and standard qualifying session.
The Monegasque started from P3 on the grid, and managed to maintain this spot in the tricky, damp conditions, fending of the attacks of Max Verstappen whose Red Bull was arguably more competitive in the early stages of the 44-lap race.
Leclerc then pitted at the right time, and never lost his concentration, keeping Verstappen at bay despite enormous pressure from the reigning champion.
His team-mate Hamilton started from P18 following a tough qualifying session on Saturday. The Briton was excellent in the damp conditions, picking off five drivers in the opening stages of the race.
The seven-time world champion pitted at absolutely perfect time, gaining a lot thanks to his early stop. He then went on to close in on Alex Albon, but with his aerodynamic configuration he was unable to make any further progress.
Still, it was one of the most successful race weekends with Ferrari for Hamilton, and his sensational comeback drive also saw him earn the title of "Driver of the Day".
Commenting on a weekend when he delivered an absolutely faultless performance, Leclerc stated: "I'm pleased with the steps forward we are making and I think we should all be proud because I know how much work went in to our upgrades from the whole team back home in Maranello.
"It definitely helped us to get the podium and to keep Max behind today, which was not easy because he was very close until the very end of the race.
"Once we were on slicks, I knew I just had to keep my head down and push for P3 to be ours, and it is, so I'm very happy we brought it home," Leclerc continued.
"Our upgrades brought what we expected and we need to keep learning how to maximise their potential. We will keep pushing and I hope we can put some more pressure on our competitors soon," Leclerc concluded.
