Leclerc happy with qualifying pace but asks Ferrari to "focus on the race pace"

Charles Leclerc has finished on the podium in the last four Grands Prix as he continues to rein in teammate Sebastian Vettel in the Formula 1 World Championship. Ahead of the British Grand Prix, Leclerc's fastest qualifying lap in Q3 was within 0.200 of Valtteri Bottas.

In his German Grand Prix preview, the man from Monaco praised his Ferrari team for improving the qualifying pace. However, he wants some more speed on race days and that's what he asks his engineers to focus on.

"I am looking forward to Hockenheim. Over the past few weekends, we have made some progress in qualifying. Now we have to focus on the race pace because that's where we seem to be struggling the most at the moment," Leclerc said.

Leclerc's race in Hockenheim last year wasn't his best for Sauber. He finished in P15, while his teammate Marcus Ericsson managed to get into the points. That being said, Leclerc insists he enjoyed his last visit to Germany. This weekend might be different as he not only tries to spoil the Mercedes home support but also that of German Vettel.

"As for the circuit, it features some nice characteristics with a mixture of different corner types and straights. The last race was very exciting and fun to experience from inside the car, so I hope we can have another good one in Germany and be able to fight for the win," Leclerc added.