Leclerc aiming to thank Sauber in the 'best way possible'

  • Published on 25 Nov 2018 10:30
  • comments 0
  • By: Fergal Walsh

Charles Leclerc is hoping to end his rookie Formula 1 season on a high by giving Sauber another handful of points. The Monegasque driver will be leaving the Hinwil squad at the end of the year, departing to join Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari for the 2019 season.

Leclerc has impressed throughout his maiden year in Formula 1, scoring 33 points after 20 rounds. His best result came in Baku earlier this season, where he crossed the line in sixth place.

Sauber has an outside chance of pipping Force India for sixth in the constructor's standings, and can do so by outscoring it by seven points on Sunday at the Yas Marina Circuit. Leclerc qualified in eighth, with only Romain Grosjean ahead of him in the midfield battle.

Leclerc admits that beating the Haas driver will be tough, but has vowed to "give it everything" in his last race for the team: "It's going to be difficult to pass Romain, because he's extremely quick here, but I'll give it everything," he promised.

"It's my last race with this team and I really want to thank them in the best way possible after everything they have done for me this year. I'll push to try and overtake him and then try and keep him behind."

Leclerc admitted that his qualifying result was a surprise after a difficult weekend up to that point: "To be honest it's a big surprise for us to have been fighting for best of the rest today after struggling to put the tyres in the right range, because it's pretty warm and the tyres overheat quite a lot," he admitted.

"Sector 1 and sector 2 were great, but it has been pretty good all weekend. Unfortunately we were losing all the performance in sector 3. Then in the end in qualifying it went a bit better, we weren't losing as much in sector 3 so it was a good compromise."

Replies (0)

Login to reply

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2024

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
29 - Mar 2
Bahrain
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia
22 - Mar 24
Australia
5 - Apr 7
Japan
19 - Apr 21
China
3 - May 5
United States of America
17 - May 19
Italy
24 - May 26
Monaco
7 - Jun 9
Canada
21 - Jun 23
Spain
28 - Jun 30
Austria
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom
19 - Jul 21
Hungary
26 - Jul 28
Belgium
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands
30 - Sep 1
Italy
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan
20 - Sep 22
Singapore
18 - Oct 20
United States of America
25 - Oct 27
Mexico
1 - Nov 3
Brazil
22 - Nov 24
United States of America
29 - Dec 1
Qatar
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
29 - Mar 2
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7
19 - Apr 21
3 - May 5
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19
24 - May 26
Monaco Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9
21 - Jun 23
28 - Jun 30
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22
18 - Oct 20
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27
1 - Nov 3
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team -
  • Points -
  • Podiums -
  • Grand Prix -
  • Country FR
  • Date of b. Apr 17 1986 (37)
  • Place of b. Geneve, FR
  • Weight 71 kg
  • Length 1.8 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar