Blues skies and balmy weather greeted the teams as they arrived at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, which, this Sunday, hosts the 18th round of the season, the Mexico City Grand Prix. The Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow drivers, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, met the media, admitting they cannot wait to take to the track for tomorrow’s free practice sessions that start at 11.30 and 15 local (18.30 and 22 CET).
Favourite track. “This is one of my favourite circuits,” began Charles. “Because even though you run maximum aero downforce there’s never much grip, so the driver can make the difference. Having said that, I expect the two teams fighting for the title will be out of our reach, but I think we will be competitive against our closest rivals, as indeed was the case two weeks ago in Austin. On paper, this track should be even more suited to our car than the last one, although before saying too much, it’s best to wait until we have been out on track.”
Ready for the final dash. As for Carlos, he revealed he plans to go on the attack for the final five races. “I did not go back to Europe after the United States GP and I spent a few days relaxing and recharging my batteries to be as well prepared as possible for the final part of the season. This track has never delivered any good results for me and we know how demanding it is on the cars. However, I am optimistic about how competitive we can be up against our closest rivals. The battle with McLaren for third place is important, mainly symbolically. It is a useful exercise for when we will be fighting for the top. We are making good progress, which has been confirmed by the fact that every update we have introduced over the course of this season has worked as expected. We will do our utmost right to the very end to give the fans what they want and if we can continue to perform as we have done so far, I think that we can achieve our goal of finishing third.”
Special spectators. And on the subject of fans, Charles was asked what he thought of them here in Mexico. “I think they’re amazing, even if of course they support Checo Perez,” he said. “But they are very sporting and especially noisy: I reckon the Drivers’ Parade here is the best of the year, because when you get to the stadium the fans seem to be really right next to you! It’s a wonderful feeling and it continues during the formation lap when you can still hear them, even wearing a helmet and with the noise of the engines.”
Initiative. Charles and Carlos arrived for the press conference, each with a personalised version of a motorcycle helmet on sale at an affordable price, in an initiative supported by the FIA. The idea is to make motorcyclists aware of the importance of wearing a helmet, especially in countries where the number of road traffic casualties is particularly high. The programme has just been launched in Mexico during Grand Prix week and is part of the FIA’s wide ranging Action for Road Safety campaign.