F1 News: Charles Leclerc Gives Hope To Ferrari Fans After Difficult Few Races - "Good To Be Back"
Charles Leclerc has reflected on his return to the F1 podium at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver crossed the line in second position behind Max Verstappen and ahead of Sergio Perez.
During his post-race interview with David Coulthard, Leclerc acknowledged that it has been a difficult few weeks for Ferrari fans and said that the Maranello-based squad had done a great job at bringing upgrades to the SF-23 earlier than they had planned. He explained:
"I think Friday and today we have maximised what we had really. It's more yesterday that I was up with the pace, but it's good to be back on the podium.
"The upgrades that we brought on the car made me feel a little bit better in those conditions, which is looking good for the future. The team has done an excellent job by bringing these upgrades earlier, so that's great, but obviously, there's still a lot of work to do because Max [Verstappen] and Checo [Sergio Perez] have a lot of pace.
"I was just trying to get the track position even though we knew that on the long term for the whole race, it will have been difficult to keep Max behind with the race pace, but I tried and it wasn't enough, but at least it's good to be back on the podium.
"Especially after the last few races that have been a bit more difficult for the Ferrari fans around the world."
The Monegasque driver went on to look ahead to the British Grand Prix next week. He continued:
"Actually, these are my two favourite tracks [Red Bull Ring and Silverstone] that are not city tracks and Silverstone, we always had great results. So hopefully we can take advantage of the new upgrades we have on the car and be a bit more of a challenge to the Red Bull's."