Charles Leclerc confident of a better show from Ferrari in the 2023 F1 Saudi Arabian GP: "We should go a little better"

Charles Leclerc is hopeful that Ferrari will be able to put together a much better performance in Jeddah as opposed to how the team fared in Bahrain.

The race in Bahrain saw Charles Leclerc valiantly challenge Max Verstappen on his first run as he was only a tenth of a second off Leclerc got the jump on Sergio Perez early in the race. However, he could not hold the position as the Mexican passed him in the second stint.

Ferrari was more than half a second slower than Red Bull and as a result, Charles Leclerc was unable to mount any kind of challenge to Max Verstappen.

Looking forward to Jeddah where he already has a 10-place grid penalty, Charles Leclerc is hopeful of a stronger showing from the team.

With top speed being an important part of the lap and tire degradation not a major issue, Leclerc told motorsport.com that he expects the team to have a better weekend. He said:

"Here we should go a little better than two weeks ago. Bahrain is a track with very specific and rather unique characteristics, for sure verses, I hope that the gap we saw with the Red Bulls in Sakhir is not the same here in Jeddah, but the characteristics of our car should adapt a little better to this type of track, let's hope this is the case. well and show a good pace to get back in front."

It is what it is: Charles Leclerc on Ferrari's start to the season

Leclerc brushed off the suggestions that Ferrari was already under pressure after just one race. Looking back at a disappointing first race of the season, Leclerc said:

"It is what it is, obviously. We are at the beginning of the season clearly and it is certainly not the ideal start, just as it was not in Bahrain. But what can I do about it? I have to concentrate on what to do better, what the team can do better."

"This weekend, we're starting off on the wrong foot, but our goal is to try to do something special. We'll recover by returning to the top positions as quickly as possible."

Leclerc will be hoping for a stronger performance from the car as he tries to make his way through the field in the race. The Ferrari driver will want to points on the board this weekend as he tries to kickstart his 2023 F1 campaign.