Charles Leclerc has dismissed suggestions that his race-ending mistake in last weekend's French Grand Prix was a result of pressure from Max Verstappen. Leclerc had led the early stages of the race at Paul Ricard despite a strong challenge from Verstappen, but then spun out on Lap 18 while under no pressure, leaving the Dutchman to collect an easy win. Knowing he had gifted his title rival a victory, Leclerc was heard screaming with anguish over the radio after his crash, but speaking on the eve of the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Monegasque said he had now moved on from his mistake. "There's nothing that will help me, dwelling on my mistake or staying in the past on that mistake," Leclerc told media including RacingNews365.com . "No, I did that mistake, it cost me lots of points, I'm aware of it, and that's it. "Now, I just need to move on, focus 100 per cent for this weekend, try to do the best possible, try to win this race, and then I'm sure it will go well."
Leclerc confident of a good race
With Leclerc having taken seven pole positions so far in 2022, and the Ferrari F1-75 showing especially well in slow corners, the Scuderia are tipped for a strong weekend at the Hungaroring, and Leclerc talked up his chances of success. "I think we'll have a strong car," said Leclerc. "I think Paul Ricard and Budapest are two tracks where I struggled a bit more in the past, personally, but Australia [also used to be] the case, and in the end, I managed to have a great weekend. "So I hope that this weekend, I can also turn things around." Leclerc also dismissed suggestions that his spin at Paul Ricard came about because of the pressure Verstappen had put him under, instead saying that the period of greatest pressure had come earlier in the race. "The real pressure, I had it when Max was really behind," he commented. "And then [by Lap 18], Max had already moved to a non-optimal strategy, so I just had to push and focus on my own race, which I was doing. "But then, obviously, when you are fighting with the limits, sometimes mistakes can happen, and I think this is a kind of mistake where I just went too far, and that's it."
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