Leclerc: Even Sauber didn't expect good car at end of the season

Departing Sauber driver Charles Leclerc has revealed that not even the team itself expected the car to be as strong as it is this late into the season, with Leclerc finishing best of the rest in Brazil last week.

Sauber even had both of their cars in Q3 of qualifying in Brazil, with Marcus Ericsson eventually edging out Leclerc for P6 on the grid. The Swede had a nightmare race, dropping quickly down the grid after an early collision. He eventually had to retire from the race, but Leclerc still secured P7 for the Swiss-Italian team.

“I don’t think we expected to have such a good end of the season, [with] the end of the development programme for this year’s car so early," Leclerc told RaceFans.

"So it’s definitely looking good for them for next year, because they’ve had quite a bit of time to develop the car.”

Leclerc will suit up for Sauber one last time next weekend in Abu Dhabi before he's off to Ferrari. The 21-year-old rookie has had a sensational first season in F1 and will get his chance in the big-time next to Sebastian Vettel in 2019.

As for now, the Monegasque will focus on the task at hand, which is to keep Toro Rosso behind them in the constructors' championship.

“We’re obviously not going to take stupid risks to gain one position if they are behind,” Leclerc said on that matter.

“That’s for sure going to change a little bit our approach.

“But the goal remains the same, to do the best job possible every week, and to obviously keep them behind. We will change a little bit in some situations.”