Ferrari, for the Austrian GP Charles Leclerc has no illusions

These are the words of Ferrari’s Monegasque Charles Leclerc on the eve of the three-day Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.

“First impressions of next year’s cars? Let’s say it’s not the most fun race car I’ve driven so far, but we’re still at a time when the design is relatively new. My hope is based on the fact that it will evolve quite a bit in the coming months.”

“It’s no secret that I think the regulations for next year will probably be less enjoyable for drivers to drive, so yeah, I’m not a big fan of it for now, but that’s the way it is. At the end of the day I think it’s a challenge and I would like the challenge of maximizing the potential on a car that’s very different from the current car. But do I like it? Probably not.”

“What we want to do is take small steps in the right direction and obviously try to figure out what direction we can go in the future, so I expect steps forward. Will it be enough to close the gap from McLaren? Probably not, because for now McLaren and Red Bull are too far ahead.”

“As I’ve said many times, Mercedes on the other hand is much more up and down, so it’s a bit harder to judge them. But I think ours will be a step in the right direction. How much, I don’t know.”