Charles Leclerc prepares to face the race weekend at Interlagos, home of the Brazilian Grand Prix, after helping Ferrari regain third place in the Constructors’ Championship with an excellent ranking Carlos Sainz Jr

Maranello is now 13.5 points ahead of the Woking squad. The bangs are still small which in fact certainly cannot leave men in red calm. Charles Leclerc spoke about it and much more at today’s drivers’ press conference at Carlos Pace in Sao Paulo.

Not only the present, but also the future. Because Maranello’s talent has also expressed how impressed he is with the work Ferrari will do at Gestione Sportiva for next season. It is clear that the difficulties of recent seasons have reinforced an environment which has a great desire to fight until the end of the Formula 1 championships.

Charles, after Mexico, you return to third place in the Constructors’ Championship, and you are now 13.5 points ahead of the McLaren team. Are you calmer now?
“We are certainly not calm. We will have to do everything perfectly this weekend too because McLaren is very close to the constructors’ championship. They have shown their strength, so we’ll have to focus on ourselves to do everything perfectly. It’s a good time. We have made progress. Excellent in the last 6 races, we have reduced the gap between them and now we are ahead. But we have to keep going and I can’t wait to race here. AlphaTauri was also very strong in Mexico, she was very fast. And although she is behind us at the world championship, she has shown some excellent things. However, we should only focus on ourselves and do our best.

What do you think of the Sprint qualifiers which will be played at Carlos Pace Stadium in Sao Paulo?
“I’m happy to have the new format in Brazil, because Friday is usually a bit boring, while qualifying already on the first day of the weekend can be more exciting for everyone. On Saturday, instead, the Sprint qualifying needs some tweaking going forward, but I’m very excited about this weekend. It’s a little different than usual and for Ferrari I think it’s a good opportunity to do better.

Are you satisfied with the way the year has gone with Sainz? Are you happy with the team?
“Carlos and I are a good team. We are competitive, we push each other race by race. We learn from each other and it’s also good for the team that can progress. I think Ferrari is happy. From us and us too, we are happy to be teammates now and in the future.

Where have the biggest developments been in the car this year?
“Obviously, progress has been made from an engine perspective. We saw it for me in Russia and for Carlos in Turkey. It’s a step forward which helps us to finish third in the Constructors’ Championship. It was the biggest step forward, the most obvious. But behind the scenes we are always trying to improve the car, to do better every weekend, and that’s why we are improving race after race.

Next year there will be cars that are completely different from the current ones. What do you like the most?
“It’s very hard to say what impresses me about the 2022 car. It’s going to be a very different year to last. But I can say that what impresses me is the work of the team. We are improving the way I have worked with it. Over the past two years, I have improved as a team. It’s hard now to talk about what I like about the numbers or other things about 2022. We don’t have any references to others. The cars are very different from what we have seen in recent years. There is nothing I can compare. But I like the way the team is doing for next year.

What do you think of Lusail’s career in Qatar? How did you prepare to face it?
“The towing of a new track for everyone. I only knew him thanks to the simulator. I haven’t had much time these days, but we’ll find the trail once there. The best setup you can make for the track. Look at the signs and do a simulation. Then we have to make good use of the three free practice sessions of the race weekend.

At this stage of the season, is Ferrari at the level you thought you could reach at the start of the season?
“Since the start of the year, it has been clear for Ferrari that winning races will be difficult. We had some nice surprises like Monaco and Baku, we showed that we were working in the right direction and that we are making good progress. At the moment, we are third in the world championship. Manufacturers and this is the objective we set ourselves at the start of the season. I think things went well.