Leclerc expects Spa will be “quite difficult” for Ferrari

Charles Leclerc doubts the Spa-Francorchamps circuit will play to the strengths of his Ferrari in this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.

With its numerous, flowing flat-out sections, Spa looks unlikely to flatter a car which has performed best at slower circuits with shorter straights.

However, after Leclerc scored a second-place finish in Silverstone and team mate Carlos Sainz took a podium at the Hungaroring, both relatively high speed circuits, Leclerc admitted there had been ‘good surprises’ at tracks they didn’t expect to suit their car.

“I think this particular track is on paper, quite difficult one for us,” he said.

“On the other hand, we’ve had some good surprises this year already, so hopefully we’ll have another good one this weekend and we’ll be more competitive than what we thought coming here. But on paper it doesn’t look as a very strong track for us.”

Ferrari have, additionally, struggled in cooler temperatures – in particular, their disastrous slide back down the order during the French Grand Prix – and with the weather set to be overcast and chilly at Spa this weekend that could prove an issue for their tyre set-up.

Leclerc and Sainz are set for a boost when Ferrari introduce an upgrade for their power unit in the second half of the season. However Leclerc is still waiting to learn when that will happen.

“I know there’s an upgrade,” he said. “It will be on the hybrid part of the engine. When we will bring it, we don’t know yet.”

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