"This can be very costly" - Ferrari's Charles Leclerc on being wary of contracting COVID-19

Charles Leclerc says he cannot be complacent and risk contracting COVID-19. The 24-year-old believes an infection could prove costly, especially when Ferrari hopes to fight for victories and podiums in the upcoming season.

Speaking to the German edition of Motorsport ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend, the Monegasque said:

“COVID-19 doesn’t go away from one day to the next. It’s still the case that you can’t race if you’ve been infected with the disease. That can sometimes be very expensive.”

Charles Leclerc himself has contracted the highly infectious and often deadly disease twice over the course of the pandemic. Recounting his own experiences of being infected with the disease, he said:

“The first time it wasn’t as bad as the second time. I had a headache the whole time and I wasn’t feeling well. But in both cases, it didn’t last more than a week and a half. Still, it varies from case to case. I have friends who, despite being in excellent health, were much worse off, so it’s really hard to predict.”

Over the course of the last few months, as the number of COVID-19 infections started declining across the world, F1 relaxed several restrictions that were originally introduced to prevent infections.

Wearing masks at all times was still recommended, but it was no longer mandatory for drivers and team members. Furthermore, isolation bubbles within teams and across the paddock were no longer strictly enforced, allowing for drivers and teams to freely intermingle.

While relaxation of COVID rules hasn’t caused spike in infections, it has led to several high-profile members within the paddock testing positive for the disease. Late last season, Kimi Raikkonen missed two races after getting infected, while Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo have also contracted the disease in recent days.

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Charles Leclerc vying for pole contention in Bahrain

Charles Leclerc is hoping to be in contention for pole position for the season-opening Bahrain GP, after Ferrari continued their impressive form during Friday's practice.

Speaking to GPBlog following the conclusion of FP2, Leclerc said:

“I am quite confident with the car and it’s all about testing the limit of the car today and not making mistakes tomorrow. We tested a lot of things and changed quite a bit of thing this morning, and all the changes we made have worked. We need to do the same tomorrow. But there is still a lot of work to do tomorrow and hopefully we will be able to fight for pole.”

Both Charles Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz looked impressive across first and second practices on all compounds. The duo went on to set the second and third quickest lap times during both sessions.