It has been a strange few weeks or so for Ferrari star Charles Leclerc. The 23-year-old had the opportunity to land a podium finish in Turkey but missed out on it in the final lap of the race.

In the Bahrain GP Free Practice Sessions, he clocked in some good laps. However, it was a case of other drivers being faster than him and putting in better lap timings to take the edge in the midfield places.

Leclerc will start today’s race in P12 after a dismal qualifying performance. And stand in Ferrari team boss Laurent Mekies thinks that the Monegasque racer believes he is missing his usual level of confidence ahead of the race.

Ferrari will give Charles Leclerc the car he needs to have in the race

Speaking in a brief interview, Mekies stated, “I’m sure if you ask him, he will probably tell you that he doesn’t have his usual level of confidence as he’s had around here.

“We are working hard with the team to try to support him best [that we can], to give him the tools and give him the car he needs to have that.”

Leclerc has put in good performances despite starting from the lower midfield places on the grid. And Ferrari will hope he can put in a similar display en route, getting some crucial points in the race for midfield glory.

“I think there was some small progress. We did see this level of confidence growing. We are missing something for quali today. Hopefully, with the race tomorrow, we are back in the fight,” concluded Mekies on the subject.

Leclerc has to quickly rediscover his Turkish GP form

Despite treacherous conditions, Leclerc recorded a tremendous performance in the rain-affected race at Istanbul Park. His greatest asset is picking up the pace in crucial areas as well as overtaking; the latter which will prove to be quite important in Bahrain.

From a personal standpoint, Leclerc will also be looking to maintain his standing in the Drivers’ Championship. He is currently fifth behind Sergio Perez and will need a good result to keep his decent form going ahead of the races in Sakhir and Abu Dhabi.