Charles Leclerc: I am pleased with our progress.

      Charles Leclerc is satisfied with his third-place finish at Spa...

      Question: Charles, in a tough race you overtook Max Verstappen and climbed onto the podium. Are you happy with the result? Charles Leclerc: That’s nice. We didn’t expect such a result, especially considering our gap to the top three after qualifying for the sprint. But in the main qualifying, we decided to take a risk by choosing settings for a bit less downforce, I drove a good lap, and today the weather helped a little.

      At the start of the race on the wet track, it was challenging. Max was clearly faster, but I had to keep him behind. After switching to slick tires, the situation changed in my favor. I just knew I had to do my job, and then third place would be mine, which ultimately happened. I’m pleased.

      Max was putting pressure, at some point he got very close, but couldn’t overtake. As soon as I completed a good lap, he responded with the same, so I stopped paying attention to the gap and just tried to keep a steady pace.

      Question: Are you satisfied with how the team’s upgrades performed during the race? Charles Leclerc: I’m happy that we’re progressing. That’s something to be proud of. I know how much the team is doing for this, how many efforts every member puts in so that we can develop these upgrades.

      Today they helped me get onto the podium and fight evenly with Max, but we understand that it’s not enough, and we need to work even harder. Everyone in the team is focused on reducing the gap to McLaren and fighting for wins, but we’re pleased with what we achieved this weekend.

      Question: Do you think the Hungaroring suits your car more than Spa? Charles Leclerc: Not sure. Let’s not jump to conclusions.

      Question: Yesterday you mentioned that the car doesn’t perform well in rain, but today the track dried quickly. Under which conditions was it more effective? Charles Leclerc: When the race started with a wet track, we had no chance for a podium. If the entire race had been wet with our current setup, expecting a good result would have been unrealistic. Fortunately for us, the track dried quite quickly — and the car performed well.

      Question: The race start was delayed by over an hour. Do you think this could have been resolved earlier? Charles Leclerc: At this track, considering what happened here last time, you can’t forget the risk. In such situations, it’s better to spend an extra ten minutes in the pits than to go out before conditions are safe. Of course, this is a matter for discussion, and we’ll probably tell those making decisions that it could have been done a little earlier, but I wouldn’t change anything.