Charles Leclerc put pressure on Max Verstappen: “We are now more ‘outsiders’ than favorites”

Charles Leclerc started the Formula 1 season on the right foot and, after a major win in Austria, was tasked with warming up the previous French Grand Prix in dialogue with AFP. The Ferrari driver talked about the loss of his father, his presence in the team, and even Max Verstappen.

And it is that last Sunday, July 10, was not just another race for Leclerc. The Monegasque trampled Austria with a very clear goal, to return to victory nothing more and nothing less than at Red Bull. With Carlos Sainz out with an engine failure, the rival to beat was Verstappen. In the end, the one who smiled was Leclerc.

“It was a good race. At the beginning it was a good fight with Max and in the end the problems with the accelerator pedal complicated things a bit. I’m very happy with the result”, had launched the great promise of the Ferrari, a few minutes later to sign his third win of the season.

Now, excited to add a new win, and days after racing the French Grand Prix, he conducted a much more intimate interview. To start, he talked about the pressure to win the title, and threw a stick at the Dutchman: “In terms of performance we are favorites, but we have had problems which now make us more a strangers“.

“I still believe that if we do everything right until the end of the season, the performance is there for us to win the championship, so I will believe it until the end. I have always been motivated. I am confident and if we don’t ‘we have no more problems, we have the possibility to reach it (Verstappen) “.

Plus the Montecarlo driver He also spoke about Ferrari’s strategyand explained: “It is clear that in five races there have been many things: in Barcelona we were in the lead and we broke the engine, in Monaco the strategy, in Baku the engine, in Montreal the penalty and then in Silverstone the strategy. .. Such an accumulation of things was not easy to manage“.

“In all of us we were in the positions to win, so the potential was there. I have always been motivated. I like the fact that we have won the first normal race since then in Austria.”

And if with the statements in which he made it clear that he sees his team as one outside the box in the fight for the title it was not enough, Leclerc was also consulted about his fight hand in hand with the last Formula 1 champion, in which for now the Dutch dominates, who accumulates six triumphs Y eight podiums.

“I’ve always been an aggressive driver, so those battles don’t bother me. I’ve always enjoyed those fights on the edge of the rules, and it’s great that after all our time together in karts 10-15 years ago, we are now in F1 and fighting for a championship “.

And to close with the topical issue, Leclerc also spoke about what it means to represent Ferrari, and what it would mean to be able to add a title to the team. “They are such a legendary team, there is also a lot of pressure which makes it difficult, but which makes success even more beautiful. There is so much passion in the world for Ferrari. I think winning a title with Ferrari is every driver’s dream.“, Rounding.

growing up in difficult times

For the Monegasque driver, second 38 points behind Verstappen, things were not easy, far from on the road to Formula 1. At just 24 years old, Charles had to face several complicated defeats, such as that of his father Hervé, the his godfather Jules Bianchi and his friend Anthoine Hubert.

“Although I am still a young man of 24, I have a maturity perhaps different from that of some of my friends, due to my path, not only professional but above all vital, with, unfortunately, some sad events. These are stages that have made me grow as a person and as a rider“.

In this way, the Ferrari man not only had the task of warming up a little more before a race that aims to be one of the best of the season, but he was also more intimate than ever. “It is true that in complicated situations I managed to stay calm, and this is important”, he closed.