Ferrari junior driver and Formula 2 championship leader Charles Leclerc admits he wouldn’t be enthusiastic about completing a year in Super Formula before joining the F1 grid in 2019.
The Monegasque is believed to be in line to make the straight jump from F2 to F1 next season earning a seat at Sauber, however, the past two GP2 champions, Stoffel Vandoorne and Pierre Gasly, both spent a year in the Japanese open-wheel series before making the step up a year later.
Indeed, Gasly only just made his debut with Toro Rosso this past weekend in Malaysia and could well skip the United States Grand Prix later this month to finish the season, as the Frenchman sits just half a point behind in the Drivers’ Championship.
It is thought Leclerc’s main competition for the 2018 seat comes from Ferrari third driver Antonio Giovinazzi, but the 19-year-old, who was at Sepang completing the first of several outings with the Swiss team in Friday Practice 1 he will do between now and the end of the year, is keen to step in front of the Italian.
“I’d prefer not to go to Japan, to be honest,” he told Motorsport.com. “But we’ll see what the opportunities are at the end of this year. Hopefully, I don’t have to go to Japan.”
The current Prema driver in F2 looks to complete the job in the championship he has led almost throughout, as he takes a 59-point lead to a special standalone event this weekend at Jerez.
Heading to Spain, Leclerc revealed he is being kept in the dark about his F1 chances to enable him to focus on becoming the first F2 champion in the rebranded series.
“I’m very happy about that. To be honest, I don’t want to know much,” he added. “I have a goal and it’s to win the Formula 2 championship this year. Anything that comes after, will come after.
“I’m sure that Ferrari and (Leclerc’s manager) Nicolas (Todt) will work as hard as possible for me to have the best place possible in 2018. If I continue to do the job, like I did from the beginning of the year, in Formula 2, I hope they will find a place for me.”
