Charles Leclerc celebrated his 28th birthday today at the track, in the company of the team, everyone gathering in the hospitality in the afternoon to wish him well. “Today’s been a nice day and tonight we will celebrate at dinner, even though we can expect a very busy weekend at the track, especially as we have the Sprint format,” he said. “So I don’t think we’ll do anything too extreme, because right from tomorrow we will need to be at our very best on track, as that’s when the positions on the grid for Saturday’s race will be decided. I hope I can give myself a nice present on the track, maybe a podium.”

Motivation and opportunity. Leclerc said he is fully motivated for this final part of the season. “It’s not in my nature nor the team’s to ever give up. We’ll give it our all until the last lap of the last race, and I believe that even from the poor weekends there’s something to learn. I also think the car’s potential is greater than it’s looked recently, and even though our rivals have undoubtedly made progress in terms of competitiveness, I’m convinced that if we manage to put everything together, a good result is within our reach,” said the Monegasque. He has further cause for optimism because of the weekend format: “We’ll only have one free practice session, so those who have prepared best at the factory could have an advantage, and in the past, there have been times when we were the best prepared. If that’s the case here, it’ll be important to make the most of that opportunity.”

There’s only Ferrari. Charles was asked to comment on rumours suggesting he might be considering other teams for his future. “There are a lot of rumours, but the truth is the same as I’ve always said, I’m in love with Ferrari, I want to win with the Scuderia, and we’re all pushing as hard as we can to be ready when the new technical cycle begins next year,” he said. “So as far as I’m concerned, there’s only Ferrari.”