Leclerc lacks confidence for Silverstone: 'Track will expose our weakness'

Charles Leclerc is downplaying Ferrari's chances of winning the 2023 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Leclerc believes the track will expose Ferrari's weaknesses despite his teammate Carlos Sainz earning the win 12 months ago at the same venue. 

Leclerc at Ferrari

Whereas Ferrari were the second best team in 2022, they have dropped behind Aston Martin and Mercedes in the Constructors Standings. The Italian team scored 32 points in Austria last time out and seem to be on a postive trajectory. Leclerc also feels this improvement. 

"I think since Barcelona, really, the feeling is going in the right direction, we couldn't really prove it in any of the tracks since Barcelona. But in Austria, the feeling was good and the pace was a bit better than what we had for the first part of the season. So that was good. I think it shows that there were some steps forward made," Leclerc said in the press conference attended by GPblog. 

However, Leclerc isn't confident that the car will perform well at Silverstone. "However, we shouldn't get carried away. I mean, Red Bull are still a lot in front. And I think this track this weekend will expose a bit more of our weaknesses. So we might struggle a bit more than what we've seen last year. But it's clear that the feeling and the base is a step better," he added. 

Self improvements

A fair amount of critisism has been aimed at the Ferrari car, but there are also areas where Leclerc himself can improve. There is no lack of confidence in that department as Leclerc suggests he has a history of solving these issues.

"I am confident in a way that whenever I've been working on something in my career, I've always made steps forward and, pretty quickly. And, at the moment, this is probably my biggest focus of, what can I do as a driver [and that is] to put the tyre always in the right window. This is probably the factor that is over everything else. so there's been a lot of work on that and, I am confident that it steps forward," he concluded.