Leclerc: Ferrari must now 'maximize' every opportunity ahead

Charles Leclerc says he'll continue to believe in the world title as long as the math allows him to do so, but he admits that Ferrari now needs to maximize every opportunity that comes its way in the back half of the season.

After a strong start to his 2022 campaign that put him comfortably in the lead in the Drivers' championship, Leclerc was swamped by arch-rival Max Verstappen in the wake of Ferrari's missteps and strategy blunders, not to mention the Monegasque's own errors at Imola and Paul Ricard.

The end result after last month's Hungarian Grand Prix and before F1's summer break was an 80-point deficit for Leclerc versus Verstappen.

For the Monegasque, the sport's three-week break provided him with a much-needed reset after the first half's "accumulation of emotions".

"I needed it," Leclerc told the media in Spa ahead of this weekend's return to action. "The first half of the season has been full of highs and lows, so loads of emotions.

"There’s lots of accumulation of emotions, which leads to being tired.

"So, I was quite happy to go on holidays and I used these three weeks as best as possible with my family and friends. It was just great.

"Well, I think we will take it one by one, as a team.

"But for sure we have to maximise every opportunity that we have ahead, and I still believe in the championship.

"Of course, it’s going to be a very difficult challenge. But I will believe in it until the very end."

• Read also: Ferrari doesn't want Leclerc 'to change anything'

Leclerc pointed to Sebastian Vettel's incredible run in the latter part of 2013, when the Red Bull charger won nine consecutive races to seize the title, as and act - although a massively difficult one - to follow.

"I have to do like Sebastian Vettel in 2013, when he won every race after the summer break," he said. "Maybe it's easier said than done but I'll do my best."

Spa is the venue at which Leclerc enjoyed his maiden Grand Prix win in 2019, which he achieved against a backdrop of sadness a day after the tragic death of his good friend Anthoine Hubert.

"It is a very special track for me, for each driver the first victory is special," he remembered. "I got it here under strange conditions due to Anthoine's death.

"It's a track I've always enjoyed driving on, I hope to get a great result this weekend."

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