Charles Leclerc is keen to get out on track and turn the page after Silverstone. “Everything went wrong there, but occasionally in a season you can have a bad race, “he told journalists. “However, here in Belgium I’m confident we can make up for it and be back at the level we have performed at recently, when we were usually capable of fighting for the podium places. Also, personally, I think this one of the most beautiful tracks in the world and it will always be a special place for me as it was here that I got my first Formula 1 win (Editor’s note, in 2019) and with Scuderia Ferrari.”

Progress. Leclerc is confident but also realistic when it comes to the updates the team has brought to the Ardennes. “They are small improvements that will no doubt take us in the right direction,” he said. “Having said that, we must also keep in mind that, at the moment, we lack three or four tenths to McLaren which we need if we want to win and, at the moment, there’s no upgrade that give you that sort of margin in Formula 1. Back in the factory, we have done a great job and I can’t wait to try these updates on track in tomorrow’s free practice.”

The rain factor. Leclerc reckons that one of the factors that worked against Scuderia Ferrari HP in Silverstone was definitely the rain. “For us it definitely added a degree of difficulty,” he admitted. “In the wet, our car is less competitive and it is very difficult to drive. On top of that, the wet conditions don’t suit the more extreme set-up which I’ve adopted this season, even if in the dry it allows me to get the most out of the SF-25. If it also rains here in Belgium, it will be an opportunity for us to see if we have learnt something from Silverstone and if we can improve our performance level on a wet track, something which I am confident we can do,” concluded the Monegasque.