Sauber’s Charles Leclerc achieved his third top-10 finish of the season in Montreal, raking in another point for the Swiss outfit and boosting his confidence in the process.
The 20-year-old rookie put in a solid performance that yielded a P10 finish on a track he feared would not suit his C37 after the brake issues that had marred his home race in Monaco two weeks ago.
“It was a good race today. I am very happy with the result – it has now been four races that we have been doing a great job, and have been improving consistently,” said Leclerc.
“Today was probably the hardest race for us. Coming from a brake failure in Monaco, coming on probably the hardest track for brakes here, we learned from our errors and we managed it very well.
“I am proud of the team and the work that everyone has done. It was exciting to discover this track in Montreal, and I enjoyed driving here very much.”
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A highlight of Leclerc’s afternoon was an entertaining scrap early on with Fernando Alonso. The Sauber driver eventually lost he position but only as a result of McLaren’s strategic undercut.
“I was definitely trying to hold him off, it’s obviously always pretty difficult to have him behind,” he added.
“It was a tricky situation as he was behind but I was also having to save the brakes. We managed to keep him behind, then he undercut us with the strategy.”
With each passing race, as he learns the ropes of Formula 1, Leclerc is gathering momentum and confidence.
“Formula 1 is a very complex environment, and week after week I keep understanding it more, it’s very difficult, and even for me who is in the sport since three-years-old I did not expect that much of a step from Formula 2 to Formula 1.
“I definitely keep my confidence growing; Now we have to take what we have learned here and look to continue on this positive path for the next couple of races.”
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