Charles Leclerc will wait until after the first pre-season test of 2018 to see where the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team are in relation to their rivals and to make any predictions, although the increased partnership with Scuderia Ferrari is likely to see a big jump in performance.
The Monegasque driver will make his Formula 1 debut in 2018 after winning the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2017 and will line-up alongside Swedish racer Marcus Ericsson, with the team looking to be a lot more competitive than in the past two seasons.
Felipe Nasr scored Sauber’s only two points of the 2016 season in the Brazilian Grand Prix, while Pascal Wehrlein finished twice inside the top ten in 2017, but the German has been replaced in the team by Ferrari junior Leclerc, who is hopeful of that big step for the team next season.
“I guess it’s quite hard to make them before you actually put your car on the track and see what it’s really worth,” said Leclerc on Crash. “In junior categories, you can expect something and target something, but in Formula 1 it’s a lot harder. The differences between the cars are bigger.
“We’ll see after the first test. As usual I’ll try to make the best work possible in the car, it’s difficult to expect something now.
“We have the new power unit, that should be a big step. Hopefully we can do also a step in the car. But it also depends on how big the step of the other teams will be. This we’ll have to see.”
