Charles Leclerc says he will believe in his Formula 1 championship hopes “until the very end” in 2022.
The Monegasque sits 80 points behind leader Max Verstappen in the standings as the season resumes this weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix.
But after a rollercoaster year so far with three wins mixed with three retirements and other disappointments, Leclerc was happy for the break.
“The first part of the season has been full of highs and lows, loads of emotions and there’s lots of accumulation of emotion that leads to being tired, so I was quite happy to go on holiday!” he said on Thursday at Spa.
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Now though Leclerc is refreshed and remains convinced he can overturn what would be the largest deficit a driver has ever faced to win the F1 title in the final nine races.
“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,” he stated.
“I think we will take [the races] one by one as a team. But for sure we need to try and maximise every opportunity that we have ahead.”
With its long straights, Spa may not favour Ferrari over Red Bull. Even so, Leclerc expects a close duel at the circuit where he claimed his first F1 win in 2019.
“It’s whoever puts the perfect weekend together because between Red Bull and ourselves there is very little,” he claimed.
“Maybe sometimes we are a tiny bit stronger, sometimes they are a tiny bit stronger, now there is also Mercedes that are coming into the fight which is nice.
“But in the end, the one who wins just puts a great weekend together, so that is where we’ll find the difference between the two teams I think.”