Leclerc finally finds 'a bit more consistency' with SF-23

Charles Leclerc hailed Ferrari's competitive and consistent performance in Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix while the Scuderia's pitwall held up its end of the bargain by calling the right strategy.

Leclerc cast a frustrated figure after missing Saturday's qualifying shootout due to his team's poor tyre management in the session's varying conditions.

From P10 on the grid, the Monegasque gained a spot at the start, but Ferrari opted to keep both its drivers out on the track during the race's neutralization on lap12, which immediately elevated Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz to fourth and fifth in the running order.

But the strategy would only prove beneficial if the pair could extend the life of their medium tyres and execute a one-stop race, which they duly did, switching to the hard compound shortly after the mid-race point on lap 38 and 39 of the 70-lap event.

"Considering where we were starting from, I think is the best we could have done today," said Leclerc whose P4 finish was his vest result since Baku.

"Where I'm most happy is that the good feeling that I had on Friday during the race simulations was confirmed today," he added.

"In any of the compounds we put on, whether it was on the medium or the hard, we were quite competitive."

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But perhaps more importantly, the Monegasque noted a significant improvement in his car's consistency level.

"Where we were really, really struggling the beginning of the season was consistency," he added.

"We would go from a Medium tyre, which was quite okay to a soft or hard tyre and then the car would fall apart completely.

"It seems that I went in quite a different direction this weekend in terms of setup. I felt a bit more at ease and that gave me a bit more consistency on all [tyre] compounds."

Sainz, who had qualified eighth but was demoted to P11 on the grid after impeding a driver in the session, reckoned that Ferrari could have achieved an even better result with a higher grid slot.

"Clearly, we had more pace than where we qualified," said the Spaniard.

"It felt like we would have had fun at the front if we would have started at the front but solid pace, a solid strategy and we managed to bring home fourth and fifth."

Like Leclerc, Sainz commended the Scuderia for getting its strategy right in Canada.

"Staying out with both cars was the right call, the medium was strong on our car all weekend since Friday and I could maximise the stint on the medium," he added.

"We trusted the medium because of FP2, we committed to it. The harder tyres are always a bit trickier on our car."

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