Sauber's Leclerc happy with 'fun' Grand Prix debut

Sauber's Charles Leclerc fulfilled the most important task entrusted to an F1 rookie: he finished the race!

The 20-year-old Monegasque enjoyed a strong race, running all afternoon at a consistent pace and without any mistakes which yielded a P13 finish.

Overall, Leclerc was quite happy with his first step on to Grand Prix racings global stage.

"I am very happy about my day. The start was not ideal – I had to catch up with the competitors ahead of me and slowly work my way forward," he explained.

"We maximised our potential and had a consistently good pace. I was able to overtake some of the cars, which was fun."

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After a good start, team mate Marcus Ericsson was unfortunately forced into retirement after just six laps when his C37 suffered a hydraulic issue.

Sauber team boss Fred Vasseur was obviously disappointed with Sunday's outcome but nevertheless labeled the weekend as positive..

"Overall, it has been a positive weekend. We have made good progress since Friday and are at a good starting point," said the Frenchman.

"I have learned a lot and feel confident going into the next round in Bahrain.

"Regarding the race we have mixed feelings because Marcus was doing an impressive job after a good start. We will now analyse all the data," added Vasseur who praised Leclerc's maiden F1 performance.

"Congratulations to Charles for his first race in Formula 1. It was important for him to finish and he did a great job with tyre management and fuel saving.

"All in all, it’s a good feeling for the team and we are very motivated as we look forward to Bahrain."

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