Leclerc warns against "big, big changes" from Ferrari PU upgrade

Charles Leclerc has warned against an increase in expectations generated by the advancement of Ferrari's upgraded power unit.

Leclerc will start from the back of the grid for this weekend's Russian Grand Prix in the wake of Ferrari introducing an updated hybrid system.

Leclerc's grid penalty is a consequence of the damage sustained to his PU from an opening-lap crash with Aston Martin's Lance Stroll.

The Monégasque driver, however, has made clear the new system may not yield the hoped-for major improvement in performance.

“On paper, they say it is a little bit better and obviously, whenever we have something that is a little bit better we try to bring it to the track," said Leclerc.

“We expect it to be a little bit better. We don’t expect any big, big changes but something that goes in the right direction.”

With rain forecast for much of Saturday and Sunday, Leclerc is confident there will be opportunities to work his way back through the order during the race.

“For now, the forecast says rain," added Leclerc. "If it is the case then it might be quite an unpredictable race and hopefully it will play in our favour. “If it is dry, I think if we have the pace it is still a track where we can overtake so let’s see how it goes.”

Asked if he would be doing a rain dance, Leclerc joked: “I’m not very good at dancing but yeah, maybe the rain would be better so I will try to dance on Saturday night.”

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