F1 News
McLaren's rise surprised Leclerc: 'Didn't expect that gap'
- Ludo van Denderen
Ferrari arrived at the summer break, sitting in third place in the battle for the constructors' title. The margin to McLaren is 21 points, even Red Bull Racing are still within reach (the difference is 63 points). But in terms of performance, the Italians are more likely to have to watch Mercedes behind them, rather than be able to overtake the current top two. Of those two frontrunners, McLaren are the big surprise, according to Charles Leclerc.
McLaren are so strong at the moment, that the British team are even faster than Red Bull Racing: something Leclerc had not seen coming at all. "No, it would be a lie," the Monegasque told GPblog and others, before looking at his own team. "I don't think we had much expectations when we got into the season. We were just really focusing on ourselves."
With the regulations now virtually stable for the third year in a row, it makes sense for the field to converge. Of course, Ferrari had hoped to be closer to McLaren and Red Bull. "But we are here and we are very much aware of the areas where we need to work and we are putting absolutely everything in order to turn the situation around as quickly as possible," Leclerc told his team.
Leclerc full of admiration for McLaren
That said, the Ferrari driver does admire what McLaren - unlike his own team - has managed to do. "They've done a great job and if you would have asked me at the beginning of the season whether they would be at the level of Red Bull so early on, I probably wouldn't have expected that."
This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sarkozi