Charles Leclerc hopes he can build on the pace he displayed towards the end of the F1 Sprint in Austria and challenge for victory during the main Grand Prix. Ferrari driver Leclerc was unable to progress from his second-place grid slot in the 23-lap encounter as Red Bull rival Max Verstappen controlled proceedings. Verstappen initially came under attack from the Ferrari pair at the start but maintained position through the first few corners and quickly moved out of DRS range. After this, Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz fell further behind the Dutchman as they battled for position on several occasions – Leclerc coming out on top. However, as the race wore on, Leclerc got closer to Verstappen's times and managed to cut the gap to the front, leaving him optimistic over his chances on Sunday.
Leclerc sets his sights on Verstappen in the Grand Prix
"It was tricky," said Leclerc as he reflected on his performance in the Sprint. "Obviously the first part of the race was all about managing, but Max was very quick. He was pushing quite a lot at the beginning, so I was trying to control my tyres to attack at the end. Then we had a small fight with Carlos. "Towards the end, I started to push, I was gaining a little bit, but it was very close overall. "Tomorrow is the race and hopefully we can have as good of a start as today and put a bit more pressure on Max." Pushed if he and teammate Sainz can work together to fight against Verstappen tomorrow, Leclerc added: "I really hope so."
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