Charles Leclerc was in the official press conference today at Silverstone, home to this weekend’s British GP and the Monegasque seemed surprised at the first question he was asked. Instead of the usual topics about the track or car performance, he was asked about a game of chess he played with his F3 racing brother Arthur, as they travelled to the UK together. “We don’t get the chance to play that often, but we try when we have time and usually I win, but yesterday I did not!” he confessed. Then it was back to more usual topics. “Since Barcelona, the feeling is going in the right direction,” said Charles when asked about progress with the SF-23. “In Austria the pace was a bit better than in the first half of this season. It shows we have taken some steps forward. However, we shouldn’t get carried away because Red Bull are a long way in front and I think the Silverstone track could expose our weaknesses a bit, so we could struggle a bit more than last year here, but it’s clear that the feeling and the pace has improved.”
Focused on this year. At this time of year, teams begin to assess when to switch focus solely to the following year’s car, but Leclerc explained that the Scuderia was not at that point yet. “We are still focussed on this year’s car, because we have some weaknesses we need to address and when we have done that then it will have also an effect on making next year’s car much better,” he revealed. “I feel confident because we have a very clear plan and there are more updates coming in the next few races in order, not only to be ahead of Aston and Mercedes, but also to be fighting Red Bull as quickly as possible and I’m sure we’re on the right track.”