Canadian Grand Prix 2024: Charles Leclerc senses ‘opportunity’ in Montreal

Charles Leclerc says Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix could be another “opportunity” for Ferrari to beat Red Bull after his victory in Monaco.

Leclerc, who became the second driver to beat Max Verstappen in three races, said the Montreal circuit may be another that does not suit Red Bull’s car.

Leclerc said: “Monaco was particularly favourable (for Ferrari). Maybe here it is neutral.

“I don’t think it puts too much in light the strength of the Red Bull so it might again be an opportunity for us.”

McLaren’s Lando Norris, who beat Verstappen’s Red Bull into second place in Miami last month, said he believed Ferrari were “favourites” for victory in Canada. “But it is going to be close,” he said.

Both Norris and Leclerc believe the Red Bull’s limitations over kerbs – one of the key reasons for their lack of pace in Monaco, where Verstappen could finish only sixth – could again be a weakness around Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Leclerc said: “I don’t think their strength is kerb riding and here there is quite a lot of kerb riding.”

There is also rain predicted at various points of the weekend.

Verstappen said: “I always knew Monaco would not be an easy weekend. We had a good direction we wanted to work in. It takes time, step by step. We will try to improve that.

“This is a good opportunity to find performance we didn’t think about in the first place. There is quite a lot of lap time to be unlocked from that and finally we are putting a lot of effort into that.

“We still have a quick car but some tracks just work a little bit better for us than others. Here it is not just the track layout, it is dealing with the weather and how wet it is going to be.”