Leclerc will ‘bounce back stronger’ at Russian GP

Ferrari Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc says he will “bounce back stronger” from the disappointment of his defeat in Singapore at this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix.

Leclerc was left furious after Ferrari’s strategy during last Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix enabled teammate Sebastian Vettel to undercut him and score his first victory in over a year, despite Leclerc looking set to convert pole position into his third straight win.

The Moneqasque demanded a post-race explanation from his team for what he called an “unfair” strategy, but is determined to put the incident behind him as he looks towards the next race in Sochi this weekend.

“I think we have been surprised by how powerful the undercut was,” Leclerc said.

“As I said, in the car it was very frustrating, but now out of the car I understand a lot more the whole situation.

“I’m extremely happy for the team, very happy for Seb too, he deserves it, and yeah, now I will move forward.

“Obviously I wish I was one step higher, but it’s part of life. Sometimes it goes that way, and I will bounce back stronger in Russia.

“Arriving in Russia with three positive weekends behind us feels great,” he added.

“We have made good progress on our car, especially in terms of our performance on high downforce tracks, and seem to be more competitive on tracks with various layouts now.

“The Sochi circuit can be challenging, featuring a combination of high speed straights and lots of corners, especially in the last sector.

“I look forward to getting back in the car on Friday to see how it goes at this circuit and time will tell whether we can be as strong here as we have been lately.

“The atmosphere in Sochi is unusual, in that we are surrounded by the Olympic complex. It is special to compete at a location that has played such a big part in international sporting history, which gives this place a unique feeling.”