Charles Leclerc says that the French Grand Prix this weekend gives him the opportunity to push the boundaries.

The Ferrari man says the Circuit Paul Ricard is more forgiving than some other tracks, enabling drivers to go for it with greater freedom. It is a contrast to the more apparent dangers at Monaco and Canada and Leclerc says this weekend will give him the opportunity to test his car to the limit.

He said: “I have some great memories from last year’s event which was the first time that I was there. It was also the first time that I made it to Q3 in Formula 1, which is something that I will never forget.

“The track is quite atypical, with huge run-off areas. You can really push the limits in free practice without taking actual risks because the walls are quite far away. “I really enjoy driving at Le Castellet and look forward to being back there.”

Leclerc was 10th when racing for Sauber in last year’s race. So far for Ferrari Leclerc has achieved two podium finishes, coming third in Bahrain and the most recent race in Montreal.

Overall though the season has been dominated by Mercedes who have won all seven races so far, world champion Lewis Hamilton winning five of them, team-mate Valtteri Bottas getting the other two.

Hamilton leads the drivers’ championship with 162 points, 29 points ahead of Bottas with Leclerc’s team-mate Sebastian Vettel in third. Last year’s French Grand Prix, won by Lewis Hamilton, was the first for a decade in Le Castellet.

Hamilton is 1.80 to win this year’s race with Vettel 5.00 and Leclerc 6.50.