Leclerc hails Ferrari update push after Austria podium

Charles Leclerc has hailed the pace and effectiveness of the recent updates that have helped Ferrari vault up the order.

After a difficult start to 2023, a substantial upgrade package helped Leclerc take a season’s-best second place in Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix, with the Monegasque leading the race for several laps while on a different strategy to eventual winner Max Verstappen.

"It feels good to be back on the podium," Leclerc told media, including RacingNews365.com.

"I had a really good feeling in the car on Friday. I think with the new upgrades the feeling is getting there, and we were really waiting for this race in order to confirm the good feelings we had on Friday, and it worked out.

"We still need to work extremely hard to catch up Red Bull, who are still quite a lot faster on race day, but the feeling is better.

"And the team is pushing like I've never seen before in terms of bringing the upgrades much earlier than planned, and this is great to see."

British GP critical to see effectiveness of new package

Leclerc added that the upcoming British Grand Prix would allow Ferrari to see if they have ironed out the SF-23's weakness in high-speed corners, of which there are several at the Silverstone Circuit.

"It's going to be very interesting to see where we are there, because I feel like maybe the weakness of the car now is still a little bit the high-speed corners," said Leclerc.

"In Silverstone, there are lots of high-speed [corners], so it will be good to see if this new package helps."