Ferrari: 'New engine will help Leclerc to attack Verstappen'

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto is confident that Charles Leclerc can return to the attack now that he has been fitted with a new engine. The Monegasque is well behind Max Verstappen, but Ferrari hopes that with his new engine he will be able to make up some of that lost ground before the summer break.

Leclerc drove a great race in Canada, in which he managed to come back from the last row of the grid to fifth place. This result strengthens Binotto's confidence in his driver's ability to make up points in the coming races.

The team boss says in conversation with Formula1.com that Ferrari decided shortly after the race in Baku to take the grid penalty for a new engine. This allowed Leclerc to prepare for the corresponding strategy as early as Friday in Canada, which required him to drive two long stints during the race.

With his fifth place, Leclerc limited the damage as much as possible, but he could not prevent Verstappen from advancing in the championship again. Moreover, he goes into the upcoming races with a fresh power unit. "We’ve got four races until the summer break – that will be important to him where he can attack," Binotto continued. "Let's try to somehow recover some points if we can."