Charles Leclerc believes Scuderia Ferrari got the best result possible from Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix from where they started, with the Monegasque racer claiming fourth place.
Leclerc started only tenth after struggling in Qualifying on Saturday but capitalised on the safety car at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the twenty-five-year-old opting not to pit when others ahead of him did.
With most drivers being forced to pit again due to the tyre wear in Canada, Leclerc was able to maintain his position inside the top four, and he was happy the strategy worked out for Ferrari, although fourth was probably as good as it was going to be.
“It was a solid race that confirmed the good feeling I had in the car on Friday,” said Leclerc. “We stayed out during the Safety Car phase to be able to run in free air, because we knew that it would be key for us and our strategy proved to be the right one.
“We couldn’t have done better than P4 today considering where we started. We must not forget that this is quite an unusual track, so we will keep pushing to reconfirm these positive steps in Austria.”
“We made the right strategy calls and we had a strong pace” – Carlos Sainz Jr.
Team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr. made up the same number of places as Leclerc as he moved from eleventh on the grid to fifth, and the Spaniard felt Ferrari have made progress in the right direction with its SF23.
Sainz was pleased with the pace of the car throughout the race, particularly on the medium tyre, and making up six positions from his starting spot was a good result for both himself and the team.
“Today was a positive race,” said Sainz. “We were able to push continuously and recover after a challenging qualifying.
“We made the right strategy calls and we had a strong pace, especially with the Medium tyre. The car felt good and we could push a bit more, also extending the first stint quite a lot, so I’m happy with that.
“We’re making progress in the right direction and we need to keep up the good work.”
