Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton clinched the French Grand Prix in a dominant manner. He was flanked by Valtteri Bottas and Charles LeClerc on the podium. Sometime during the race, Hamilton reported that he was experiencing discomfort with his seat. The Briton was also complaining of blistering on his tyres.

However, Charles LeClerc was not so easily fooled, especially considering Mercedes’ talent for sandbagging. Leclerc is currently 100 points behind Hamilton ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix. Now, it seems that the Monegasque driver has thrown in the towel, with regard to his hopes for glory.

So far, it has been an all-Mercedes show with both drivers winning all 8 races this 2019 F1 season. However, Lewis Hamilton has stood on the top step of the podium in 6 races and built an unassailable lead.

In light of that, in an interview, Charles LeClerc threw a subtle jab at Hamilton, who complained of issues with his car. The Monaco native views it as Hamilton’s way of lulling rivals into a false sense of hope that it is possible to win. However, in the very next moment, the Briton lies through his teeth and zooms off into the distance.

“We will believe it until the end, of course,” said Charles Leclerc. “We are all aware the gap is quite big. It’ll be difficult to catch up, but we won’t give up until it’s not possible.”

“I think at the moment it is quite difficult. They seem very, very quick. We are focusing on ourselves trying to do the best job possible. But to be honest it is quite difficult to be at their level. If they don’t run into issues, it is troubling for us to challenge them.”

LeClerc’s Austrian GP weekend got off to a good start, with him topping in FP2 ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Pierre Gasly.