Leclerc reveals Ferrari gambled at the Belgian Grand Prix

F1 Grand Prix, GP Belgium, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

Having delivered a faultless performance to grab third place at Spa-Francorchamps, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has revealed that the Italian team took a gamble at the Belgian Grand Prix with a low-downforce setup.

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".

Asked how satisfying his latest podium finish is for him, Leclerc stated: "It's nice. I don't think we expected it, especially after the Sprint Qualifying when I saw the gap with the top three.

"I was like, okay, it's going to be probably 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 towards 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.

Pressed on to comment on his battle with reigning champion Max Verstappen, Leclerc said that while he slightly struggled in the wet, he had a similar performance to the Dutchman on the dry surface.

"In the wet, probably. He was very, very close to me, but he never actually made it, which is great. The gap was always exactly the same," Leclerc added.

"Sometimes I was doing a really good lap, and then I would look at the gap and he would do exactly the same lap. I was like, fuck, okay, so I just need to keep that pace now. Until the very end, he was very close to me.

Regarding his Ferrari F1 car's performance, Leclerc said that the Italian's team heavily-revised rear suspension "definitely helped" the Scuderia to get onto the rostrum at Spa-Francorchamps.

"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 concluded.