Leclerc: "People who say it's only the car are wrong"

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have always had a great deal of respect for each other, but nowadays there is even a friendship between the two. Together with Pierre Gasly they even occasionally play online computer games against each other.

Leclerc is therefore full of praise for the seven-time world champion. "Lewis has been incredible this year," said Leclerc at the BBC. "For me, the most impressive performance this year was Turkey because nobody expected him to be so strong. He won the championship with a win there, which shows that people who say it’s only the car are wrong.”

However, Leclerc also has to admit that Hamilton is in the best car. "Surely he is driving with the best car but performances like this show he is the best on the grid at the moment, so congratulations to him and he has always been so consistent at the top and this can only be respected."

For Leclerc itself, 2020 was a year to be quickly forgotten. It remains to be seen whether things will get much better in 2021. "We shouldn't have too much high expectations, but on the other hand I feel confident it will be better than this year and I really hope so."

However, the last few races of last season did show improvement. "We have done a good job in the last few races to tackle our issues, and I see how hard everyone is working in Maranello. People are just pushing at the maximum. And I hear positive things. You can never know until the first qualifying of the season.”