(Motorsport-Total.com) – Charles Leclerc has not forgotten how to win in Formula 1: The Ferrari driver won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, making an important statement. After all, the Monegasque had been criticized several times in recent weeks due to his performances.
Read more Ferrari: First Formula 1 Car on New Track in Madrid
“I think today’s result is the biggest confidence boost he can get,” says Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur, who has never doubted his driver’s qualities. “If you look at it: Charles was on the front row in Spielberg, he was consistently up front.”
“From our perspective, based on the data, there was no reason for pessimism,” emphasizes the Frenchman, who also knows that Leclerc has recently gone through a difficult phase. “The difficult thing for him was the lack of points, the lack of results, because we had a reliability problem in Barcelona.”
“Because of that, everything just doesn’t come together while others are scoring points, and you feel like you’re losing touch a bit,” the experienced team principal knows. “But as far as performance is concerned, I remained optimistic about Charles because we saw in the data that he was there.”
Purely performance-wise, measured by lap times, Leclerc never lost touch anyway. “It was never just about performance – the performance was there. I think it was more a question of confidence,” says Vasseur. “And today will give him that back enormously.”
Read more Hamilton wonders about false start: «My hand just moved»
Ferrari team principal praises: Leclerc was “very consistent”
The weekend at Silverstone also brought important insights into car setup. “He found the confidence that not every setup step necessarily makes a big difference in lap time, but sometimes gives a driver the necessary confidence to push a little more.”
“And for race pace, that is crucial,” says the Ferrari team principal. “Today he was very consistent throughout the entire race. If you look at the first 20 laps, he was always within one or two tenths of a second. That was the key for us to win the duel with Antonelli.”
Leclerc himself also admits that the past weeks have been “mentally very difficult” for him. “But here we managed to bring everything together,” says the Ferrari driver, “and I really hope I can carry this momentum into the upcoming races.”
Read more Montoya demands: Russell must divert focus from Antonelli