Leclerc avoiding distractions despite the hype

Just half a season into his Formula 1 career, Sauber's Charles Leclerc has become one of the most talked-about drivers in the sport.

Now the big challenge facing the 20-year-old Monegasque is keeping his focus and momentum for the remainder of 2018.

“It’s crazy, how it’s going up and up and up,” Leclerc told the official Formula1.com website this week.

“We’re doing an incredible job, which is great, but it raises expectations," he pointed out. "When you’re doing still a good job but not incredible, people might see it like a bad day.

"We have to be careful about that," he said. "The most important thing is that the team is happy and the team knows what to expect every weekend, and they know how good of a job we are doing at the moment."

“I speak to them after the races, on Monday or Tuesday," he continued. "[We] do a point on the last Grand Prix and to speak about the next race and find out if we have any upgrades.

"I ask them what I can do better, what I can improve and if my way to work with them is OK. We speak a bit about everything.

“I keep thinking that in terms of pure potential we are still a bit behind [our rivals]," he explained. "But we are very good at hitting the right balance in the car.

"That means the car is easy to drive and that’s why we manage to get this performance," he said. "If the others keep struggling with putting their car in the right balance then it might be better for us.

"Now we only have to push a bit with the overall potential of the car and hopefully even better results will come.

"But once they get their car in the right balance I think we might struggle a bit more," he admitted.

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Leclerc comes across as a cerebral driver in the style of Alain Prost or Michael Schumacher rather than an intuitive one such as Aryton Senna or Lewis Hamilton.

"Actually, there is a lot going through my head when I’m driving," he acknowledged.

“It’s very important for me to think how the car is behaving, and how I would like it to behave and how to drive with the car behaving the wrong way."

This year he's been praised by the likes of Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, and spoken highly of by Sauber team principal Frederic Vasseur.

"When I’m doing a good job, Seb is coming to me and saying ‘well done’," he said. "I’ve seen Lewis has spoken about me in the media. Fernando comes sometimes personally.

"It’s great to have these drivers speaking positively about me. It’s a huge honour. I have a lot of respect for them. I’m watching them since I was younger.”

It's no wonder that Leclerc has been linked with a big money move to Ferrari in 2019. However, the driver says he is "focusing on what is happening at the moment" rather than looking too far down the road.

"I don’t think it’s any good to distract myself with what could possibly happen next year," he said.

"I think it’s important I stay focused on the job I have to do now. Hopefully I keep doing a good job with the team. And then we’ll see."

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