Another team to do a double in the 2018 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix was Sauber with both Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson finishing inside the Top 10 despite starting from the back.
This was Leclerc’s third straight points results in F1 and fifth of the season as he finds himself in 14th position with 13 points after nine races. It has been a supreme rookie season for the Monegasque which has caught the eyeballs of Ferrari even.
The 20-year-old is rumoured to have agreed to a 2-year deal with Ferrari from the 2019 season. Even with the results coming his way, Leclerc is staying modest as he feels the confidence level is not at a ‘crazy high’.
“Everytime someone is telling me that [my confidence is high] after a good grand prix, but strangely it is not that high,” he said. “I am always looking at the negatives and there were some today during the race and also during the whole weekend.
“So, there’s a lot to improve but it is not like my confidence is crazy high at this moment.” Starting from 18th due to the gearbox penalty, Leclerc was in chase of Force India’s Sergio Perez when he went off and dropped to the back of the field on the opening lap.
He then had to fight his way back to stick the one-stop strategy in a race where tyre became a talking point. He was asked on Lap 67 to give the place to Ericsson who was on fresher tyres to chase McLaren’s Fernando Alonso for eighth position.
The Swede was close on Alonso’s tail but couldn’t get the job done and had to give the place back to Leclerc on the last lap to secure Sauber’s first double points finish since the 2015 Chinese Grand Prix after 65 races.
Interestingly, Ericsson finished 10th in that grand prix as well with Felipe Nasr in eighth. “I am very happy [with the result],” said Leclerc. “It was very tricky because we had to stop [under VSC] from strategy point of view.
“I think we did that right but at the end of the race, we were struggling so much with [the] tyres and it was very difficult to keep but we managed everything well. I did a mistake in the opening lap. I was with Checo [Sergio] Perez.
“I was behind him [looking to pass through]. Anyway, we finished very close to him [in ninth with him in seventh] so it is not a big loss but after this mistake one of my best performance of this year, so I am very happy.”
Meanwhile, this was Ericsson’s second points finish in 2018 after Bahrain with the Swede making up eight places from 18th to 10th. “It was one of the best races of the year and probably also my [best] in F1, so I am really proud of that,” he said.
“The team did a great job and it was really close to get Alonso in the end for P8 but overall very-very happy with my performance today. The car is a lot better every weekend and we keep developing with the guys in the back of the factory and here at the track.
“Also, again great pit stops – we have been fastest in pits for three or four races in a row [now], so it just a great team effort. We are where we are at the moment, so it is good reward with points for both cars.”
Team boss Frederic Vassuer was also elated with the results since taking over midway last year. The Frenchman regarded the results as ‘another step forward’ for the Swiss team which has made solid headway in the midfield battle.
Elsewhere, Leclerc received a sad news when he returned home in Monaco after the grand prix in Austria to find out that his grandmother had died.
https://twitter.com/Charles_Leclerc/status/1013514908019888129