Charles Leclerc seriously impressed by ‘extremely quick’ driver after Brazil sprint race

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Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was very impressed with McLaren star Lando Norris after another impressive performance in Brazil.

Leclerc was speaking after the race, via Sky Sports F1, following an eventful Sprint Race at Interlagos.

The race as a contest was over after the first corner, with Max Verstappen getting the better of Lando Norris.

The McLaren driver lost another place to George Russell later in the lap but recovered to finish in second once again.

Russell and Lewis Hamilton may be worried by how quickly their cars fell away during yesterday’s race.

Charles Leclerc couldn’t quite get past Russell to finish fourth but knows his Ferrari isn’t one of the fastest cars on the grid this weekend.

In fact, Leclerc has singled out Norris for praise in Brazil and admits he has a lot of work to do to compete with McLaren tomorrow.

Norris – who has 12 podium finishes to his name without earning his first win – will be desperate to stand on the top step today.

He’s got a challenge on his hands starting from sixth, with the two out-of-position Aston Martin’s standing between him and Verstappen.

Leclerc impressed with Norris in Brazil

Reflecting on yesterday’s race, Leclerc said: “The race pace wasn’t bad if we compare it to Mercedes.

“But if we compare it to McLaren – Lando was extremely quick. The Red Bulls were extremely quick.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do in race pace because there was something missing there. I don’t quite understand what it is to be so similar in qualy and so far away in the race.

“This is where our main focus is at the moment. Short-term and also long-term because what we are seeing is big, so we need to focus on that.”

Leclerc and Norris will ultimately be looking beyond Brazil and hoping their teams can develop cars that can compete with Red Bull in 2024.

It’s proving to be a very difficult task, with McLaren’s upgrades working impressively well this season but still leaving them slightly short of the Austrian team’s quality.

Leclerc is supremely quick over one lap but his Ferrari simply isn’t fast enough to maintain that pace over a full race distance.

Interlagos might see another blockbuster race today, but there’s a very good chance Max Verstappen is once again cutting a lonely figure at the front of the pack.