Charles: “I’m optimistic about this weekend, even if it can be tricky”

During his usual meeting with the press today, Charles Leclerc was confident but realistic in terms of his approach to the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which starts tomorrow with free practice. “I am sure we can be on the pace this weekend, even if there are plenty of aspects that can catch you out,” said Charles, before going into more detail. “On paper this track can seem straightforward, but it’s not. As the race takes place at night in a desert location, there is a very wide variation in temperature so tyre management will be critical,” he said. “For our part, we have a car that is kind on tyres, but the downside of that is that usually it is difficult to get them up to temperature for a qualifying lap. We have worked on this and we feel we have made progress.”

Atmosphere. Charles then went on to talk about the mood in the team: “Off the back of recent results, there’s a lot of energy, even though we’re coming to the end of the season. That mentality helps, it allows us to concentrate and focus on our goal which is to get the best possible results, race by race. We can do well here and we will give it our all. There are three races to go to the end of the season, with one Sprint weekend so there are plenty of points to play for and we’re not going to give up fighting.”