Charles Leclerc believes McLaren will be the team to beat in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix but that Ferrari is close enough that the Sprint weekend format will enable it to threaten for wins.
Ferrari has won each of the past two races, with Leclerc victorious at Circuit of The Americas before Carlos Sainz’s impressive win in Mexico City last weekend. Leclerc doesn’t expect the Interlagos circuit layout to be as favorable to Ferrari as its rivals but he says the differences are so small it could benefit from the challenging schedule.
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“I think Qatar on paper is probably the most difficult weekend for us in the remaining ones,” Leclerc said. “Here, maybe it’s the second one where we don’t expect to be particularly stellar. I think Las Vegas should be a really good one for us and Abu Dhabi neutral.
“We really have to focus step by step. It’s very fine details and sometimes this can make a big difference, especially on a Sprint weekend like this.
“We only have one free practice session. If we manage to do a really good job during this free practice session, everything is possible. The margins are not big enough for it to be a clear P3. If we do a really good job, then we will have chances of winning this race. Even though on paper I don’t think we are favorites and probably McLaren will be the team to beat.”
Leclerc also sees opportunities in the fact that there is a new track surface at Interlagos and teams will have limited time to adjust to any differences to previous years.
“FP1 is going to be super important,” he said. “As I said earlier, I think it’s going to play an important role on who will come out on top this weekend. The team that adapts the quickest, the team that anticipated the best this new tarmac, will have the upper hand and hopefully we can be the one.”