Leclerc: It was very interesting to learn about Lewis's impressions.

      Charles Leclerc finds the experience of working with Lewis Hamilton, who became his teammate at Ferrari this year after 12 seasons at Mercedes, to be interesting and beneficial.

      The Monaco driver shared this in an interview with the London newspaper The Times: “It was very insightful to discover in which areas we at Ferrari applied completely different approaches compared to a team like Mercedes, which has achieved tremendous success in the past.

      I am confident that when we compare our methods, it will contribute to our progress in the future. But it was already very interesting to hear Lewis’s impressions, because for me, the sensation behind the wheel of our car is the norm...”

      This year, Scuderia has not yet won any races, but all four podium finishes have been by Leclerc, who, after the first half of the season, is in 5th place in the driver standings, with Hamilton just one spot below.

      “The season isn’t going as well as I expected or as I would have liked, that’s for sure,” admits Charles. “But we are working hard to change this situation. The thing is, at the end of last season, we were fighting for the Constructors’ Cup, so we hoped to start the next championship at least at that level.

      You can’t say we haven’t made progress—we believe some steps have been taken. But probably, the rivals have made greater progress. McLaren has improved noticeably more than others; they’ve managed to make such a significant step forward that now it’s very hard to beat them. Red Bull also wasn’t standing still...”

      Leclerc’s disappointment with the current situation is sometimes reflected in his self-critical comments, such as after the Silverstone qualifying, where he only posted the 6th time. Scuderia team principal Fred Vasseur believes that his driver can sometimes be too harsh in evaluating his own work: “Probably, over ten years, one of Charles’s qualities has been the ability to blame himself, and sometimes it’s gone too far.

      However, if a driver is willing to admit their mistakes, I value that. It’s a good trait because it doesn’t lead the team astray from its chosen direction.”

      Charles Leclerc’s best result this season so far remains the 2nd place at his home race in Monaco.