Leclerc collects another point but rues small mistake

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For the fourth time in five races, Charles Leclerc brought his Sauber home in the points, running a consistent race all afternoon in the French Grand Prix that yielded a tenth-place finish.

The Frenchman survived the carnage at the start, threading his way through the multiple incidents and off-track excursions, and even gaining an advantage thanks to the chaos, ending the opening lap P6.

Holding his own from there on was always going to be a challenge as his faster rivals caught up and overtook the Sauber, but Leclerc still succeeded in preserving his spot among the top ten.

Yet, at the end of the day, the Monegasque was a tad disappointed with his result, because of a small mistake while battling Haas' Kevin Magnussen.

"I'm happy, but I'm always hard on myself and I'm a little bit disappointed with myself," Leclerc told Sky F1.

"At one point I was catching Kevin, we were in his DRS zone.

Hamilton and Vettel heap praise on impressive Leclerc

"I really wanted to do the best first sector I could to be as close as possible to try and overtake him, but I lost the car in Turn 2, and the we lost the position to Nico [Hulkenberg].

"It's like this, we've had a very good run in the last couple of races, with not many mistakes from both sides, so sometimes it happens and I'll try to learn from it and come back stronger."

Asked to assess his Sauber C37, a car that has now become a consistent mid-field contender, at least in the hands of the talented Leclerc, the rookie admitted any compare was difficult, but he nevertheless underlined the Swiss outfit's hard work and progress since last year.

"It's difficult to say, I haven't driven any other cars but we are definitely rebuilding the team. They are coming back from two very hard years," said the 20-year-old.

"For now we are seeing the progress, this is nice to see.

"I think there is quite a lot of jobs to do, but today we managed to hit our balance in the perfect way and that's helped to have such a performance."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.