While it may not have been the result he was hoping for, Charles Leclerc believes the potential of Sauber is only enhanced by their performance at the British GP.
The Monegasque was fighting Nico Hulkenberg, who would go on to finish sixth, before a loose wheel at his first pit-stop forced him to retire ending his run of three straight points finishes.
There would be double disappointment for the Swiss team as Marcus Ericsson later crashed out at Abbey, revealing he did not close DRS in time, but still to have made Q3 and be challenging so strongly, pleased Sauber's super-rookie.
“We really thought it would have been a big problem for us this weekend [at Silverstone] and it definitely has not been the case. We are now a bit more comfortable,” Leclerc was quoted by PlanetF1.
“We all are aware it’s above our expectations and we need to keep on the ground and keep working. But, yes, definitely [Sauber can aim higher]."
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Identifying what he considers the key to his and the team's success, with 16 points after 10 races, the 20-year-old puts much of it down to set-up.
“I keep thinking that in terms of pure potential we are still a bit behind, but we are very good at hitting the right balance in the car that makes the car easy to drive and that’s why we manage to get this performance," he explained.
“If the others keep struggling to put their car in the right balance then it might be better for us because we might achieve this, but once they get their car in the right balance we might struggle more.
“Teams have struggled with the warmer conditions here and we have maybe struggled a bit less," he added, "so maybe it’s a combination of things that make us particularly strong this weekend.
“But we need to keep our feet on the ground, keep working because it’s not going to be Q3 every weekend. We will try to push. Hockenheim is a track I really like so hopefully it can be as good a weekend as here.”
