Leclerc pleased Ferrari ‘delivered’ in Australia start

Charles Leclerc expressed encouragement from Ferrari's strong start at the Australian Grand Prix, where he dramatically surged from fourth to lead off the line. Despite a thrilling early battle for P1 with George Russell, the Monegasque driver ultimately settled for a third-place finish, acknowledging it was likely "the best we could do" given Mercedes' apparent pace advantage. Leclerc, however, admitted to a personally "poor race in terms of performance" after the initial laps, finding his car's setup "very strange." Ferrari opted to keep both Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton out during two Virtual Safety Car phases, a strategy that saw them emerge behind the Mercedes cars of Russell and Kimi Antonelli after their eventual pit stops. Looking ahead, Leclerc stressed the importance of development throughout the season to improve performance.