Charles Leclerc has expressed confidence that the Ferrari Formula 1 team is making positive steps forward after his podium in Austria.
Leclerc crossed the line in second place, taking the Italian squad’s second top-three result of the year.
Ferrari has endured a difficult campaign to date, falling short of the hope that it could contest at the front of the field and for the F1 championship.
However, as it funnels through upgrades in a bid to claw into Red Bull’s advantage, Leclerc has hailed the effort of the Maranello-based outfit.
“It feels good to be back on the podium, especially after what was a very difficult day yesterday. I had a really good feeling in the car on Friday,” he said.
“I think with the new upgrades the feeling is getting there. And we were really waiting for this race in order to confirm the good feelings we had on Friday.
“It worked out. I mean, no secrets, we still need to work extremely hard to catch up Red Bull, who are still quite a lot faster on race day.
“But the feeling is better. And the team is pushing like I’ve never seen before in terms of bringing the upgrades much earlier than what was planned. And this is great to see.”
Ferrari’s last race win in F1 came at last year’s event in Austria, with Red Bull dominating the field ever since.
Leclerc is hopeful that the upgrades that it brought to Spielberg last weekend, which included modifications to the front wing and floor, will boost its prospects at Silverstone.
“This is the target, if not doing better,” Leclerc said when asked if Ferrari could repeat its Austrian performance at the British Grand Prix.
“So yes, it is a very different track in Silverstone. And it’s going to be very interesting to see where we are there, because I feel like maybe the weakness of the car now is still a little bit, the high-speed corners.
“And in Silverstone, there are lots of high-speed. So, it will be good to see if this new package helps.”
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