Leclerc expects Ferrari to 'struggle' more at Silverstone

Charles Leclerc expects Ferrari will "struggle" more at Silverstone compared to Austria, after the team showed encouraging pace at the Red Bull Ring.

Ferrari managed to qualify on the front row for the first time since Azerbaijan at Barcelona with Carlos Sainz, then Leclerc repeated the feat at the latest race and broke Max Verstappen's run of laps led since Miami.

The team have got on top of their main weakness in races and brought confidence back to their drivers, who were often complaining about tyre degradation.

Leclerc told media, including RacingNews365.com, that Ferrari could validate their performance at Austria: "We couldn't really prove it at any other tracks since Barcelona, but in Austria the feeling was good and the pace was a bit better than what we had for the first part of the season.

"However, we shouldn't get carried away. Red Bull is still a lot in front and I think this track, this weekend will expose a bit more our weaknesses.

"So we might struggle a bit more than what we've seen Austria."

Leclerc: No idea if new tyre will benefit us

Pirelli will be bringing a new construction of the C1 compound to Silverstone to help cope with the increased loads they will experience around the high speed circuit.

With Ferrari's main issue centred around tyre degradation, Leclerc believes they will need to assess the impact it will have on their car balance during the practice sessions before they know if it will benefit them.

He explained: "During the Free Practice it is going to be very important to assess that; to see how much of a difference it is in terms of tyre degradation if we need to fine tune the car to these new constructions.

"Then we'll see, but we don't know yet whether it's going to be a benefits or or weakness."