Leclerc: Number of Buttons is "crazy"

The Formula 2 champion made a strong debut in Melbourne

Charles Leclerc might not be up at the front as he was so used to last season in Formula 2 but the rookie had one of the better weekends of anybody up and down the grid.

The Monegasque driver finished P13 on his debut after a solid drive in qualifying lifted what was regarded as the worst car on the grid coming into the opening round of the season off the bottom of the timing sheets.

His limited experience so far hasn't been without difficulty however, Leclerc said he was struggling to adjust to the multitude of buttons and settings at his disposal but was sure that with time, he would become comfortable with the tools at his fingertips.

"In the junior formulas, OK, you step up, you have more power and more downforce,” he said. "This I managed to get to speed (with) quite quickly. But to be honest in Formula 1 there are so many other things that are new, so many people around and especially so many buttons, it’s crazy. And this helps also when you know what you can do with these buttons, it’s so powerful. The potential of improvement on that is huge and this will come with experience."

Reflecting on his qualifying performance, he believed he could have gone even quicker and finished in front of his teammate, Marcus Ericsson.

"The gap is not truly representative because I did a mistake,” Leclerc said. “But at the end it happens, he probably had some things to improve also so it’s just the way it is at the moment.

"I will try to put everything together next time. (Qualifying) was one of my strong points last year in Formula 2. But Formula 1 is a big step up. And as I said also not being helped with the conditions, I didn’t manage to put everything together."