Leclerc impressed by "healthy base" at Sauber

Departing Sauber driver Charles Leclerc thinks the team's success this year is because of their "healthy base", as they still score points despite having stopped developing the 2018-car.

Leclerc himself has been quite the revelation this season, as the rookie has been leading the midfield in the past two races. He's squeezed every little bit of performance out of the Alfa Romeo-Sauber in his first season in F1, which is why Ferrari have opted to take a chance on their academy product in the senior team. Leclerc will line up next to Sebastian Vettel in 2019, replacing Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn will swap seats with Leclerc.

"We did not expect that things would go so well in the second half of the season," Leclerc told SpeedWeek.

"Because in July we stopped the development of the car to concentrate on 2019. The team has shifted the work very early to the upcoming season, I know that looks very good." That's good news if you're Raikkonen.

"We did not get everything out of the car in the first 2018 race.

"From Baku we have taken a huge step in terms of vehicle balance. I myself have learned better to use the tires optimally.

"Then came some improvements to the car, which have made the car significantly faster. Even without improvements in the past few weeks, we have been able to keep up with the pace of our direct opponents, which shows what a healthy base the 2018 car is."

Leclerc will suit up for Sauber one more time this weekend in Abu Dhabi before he heads off to Maranello.