Charles: “I’m thinking positive and I love this track”

Charles Leclerc was in great spirits when he arrived in the Spielberg paddock and by his own admission, this is one of the old-school tracks that he likes best. Speaking to the media, the Monegasque revealed how he attends to approach this weekend. “I generally think positive and I’m always very happy to race in Austria and I’m in an even better mood as we have some updates here, which I hope will help us take a small step in the right direction.”

On the sidelines for one session. Leclerc already knows he will be missing FP1, as Dino Beganovic will be driving his SF-25. “Of course, I’d prefer to be driving, but we agreed as a team to run Dino at this race. I’ll be watching the data from the opening laps carefully, to see if the new parts we have on the car are performing as expected, mainly to give us more downforce and therefore more performance,” he said. “Then, in the briefing, I’ll be able to hear what Lewis thinks about it, so I’m not concerned. In FP2, I’ll get to try the updates myself, so I don’t think missing 60 minutes of track time will impact my weekend much.”

Moving forward with confidence. Charles was also asked about how he was handling some of the negative comments swirling around the team in recent weeks. “I’m not sure ‘handling’ is the right word,” added the Monegasque. “I think it’s a case of focusing on what we know and what we need to do, paying attention to every detail of our job. We believe we have chosen the right path and I think we have all the right people in the team to achieve the results expected of us. Let’s hope that, as from this weekend, we can start putting more pressure on our competitors who, so far this season, have generally been ahead of us.”