Though the Monegasque might do little about stopping Verstappen from roaring to yet another victory in the sprint, the truth that he was in a position to match his tempo as soon as he dropped into clear air has left him upbeat about his possibilities.
Vital, he thinks, for his possibilities to cease Purple Bull from profitable is to place Verstappen underneath stress – one thing that he reckons might be on the playing cards.
However requested why he felt that manner, with Verstappen having been just about untouchable to this point this yr, Leclerc mentioned: “Simply the dash race, we have been a bit of bit nearer to what we usually see.
“Nonetheless, Max wasn’t actually completely satisfied together with his automobile within the dash race, so we have to see how a lot of a step ahead he does being happier with the automobile.
“However we did some fine-tuning on our facet. We’re additionally assured we did a step ahead, so we’ll see.
“If we’ve the same tempo like we have seen [in the sprint] then I believe with technique you possibly can at all times put a bit extra stress. I hope that’s the case. We have got the 2 vehicles within the entrance, so it is a good alternative.”
Max Verstappen, Purple Bull Racing RB20, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Photograph by: Alexander Trienitz
Leclerc felt that the hole within the dash, the place he completed 3.371 seconds behind Verstappen, was not really consultant of the efficiency of their vehicles – as he was particularly hampered when working near the Purple Bull in soiled air.
Reflecting on the tempo of the 2 vehicles all through the 19-lap race, Leclerc mentioned: “I believe we have been fairly related on that. Possibly within the final two, three laps, Max had the higher hand and he pulled away a bit extra.
“However other than that, I used to be simply struggling a bit of bit with the soiled air. Each time I used to be getting inside 1.8s, 1.7s, I might drop to 2.2s, 2.3s, after which I might come again a bit of bit. I used to be largely battling soiled air.
“I believe if I had the DRS on that first lap, we most likely might have put him underneath a bit extra stress, however we did not.
“So we have to look into that to try to guarantee that we maintain the DRS if we’re behind and we draw back if we’re in entrance.”