Leclerc sees "potential" for a good race at Suzuka despite missing Q3

Sauber's Charles Leclerc fancies his chances at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday despite missing out on Q3 at Suzuka, saying that there's "great potential" for a good race for the rookie.

Leclerc has been in excellent form this season for Sauber, scoring 21 points already for the Swiss-Italian outfit. He finished his last two races at Singapore and in Russia within the points, even finishing best of the rest in P7 in Sochi.

He couldn't make his stamp on Saturday in Japan, striking out in Q2 as he was in P11, but he'll gain one spot as Esteban Ocon will take a three-place grid penalty.

Starting from P10, the Monegasque rookie thinks that he could do some damage on Sunday, as there are some beatable cars in front of him.

“Overall, it was a positive day and we see the potential is there for a good performance tomorrow,” Leclerc told The Checkered Flag.

“The pace was there in qualifying, and it is a shame that we did not make it to Q3 today.

“I made a small mistake on my first push lap in Q2, and it was not possible to improve my lap time after the rain started again, however it means we can gain an advantage by starting the race on the tyres of our choice.

“I look forward to being back on track.”

Last week, Leclerc made quick work of overtaking both Ocon and Kevin Magnussen at the start of the race to secure P5. Can he have another lightning start?