Leclerc didn’t give advice to Sainz: "I will look at him closely for sure’

Short winter break

Only a month and a half passed between the last race in Abu Dhabi and his test at Fiorano. So there wasn't much in the way of smoothness yet, but Leclerc was still happy with the test day. "It was really good to be back behind the wheel," he told Ferrari in a video. "It's only been 44 days [since Abu Dhabi] but it felt like a really long time."

The short winter break also ensured Leclerc was back up to speed quickly. “Most years I normally take quite a bit of laps before getting back to speed, but this year I have to say it’s been quite quick.”

Getting into the rhythm

The 23-year-old also finds it very useful to get back into the swing of things. “Just to get back into the rhythm with the mechanics – working with the engineers to try and fine-tune the car because even though there is nobody to race against, we are always trying to find a better way to set up the car – all of these things help for the rest of the season.”

New teammate

With Carlos Sainz, Leclerc will have a new teammate next season. Sainz comes over from McLaren to replace Sebastian Vettel who left Aston Martin. According to Leclerc he has not given the Spaniard any tips about his new team. “He didn’t ask me for any advice, but if he’s a Ferrari driver then he knows what he’s doing. I will look at him closely for sure and good luck to him.”