Charles Leclerc says he does not expect to miss any of the remaining six Formula 1 races this season, despite the birth of his first child being only weeks away.
The Ferrari driver and his wife Alexandra are expecting their first child after tying the knot in February. The due date is expected to fall during a busy end to the F1 season.
Six races remain with two triple-headers. The United States Grand Prix kicks off the first triple-header this weekend and is followed by the Mexican and Brazilian Grands Prix. The teams and drivers will then have one weekend off before the final triple-header, featuring the Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix.
Asked during media day in Austin whether he could miss a race, Leclerc said he would do everything he could to be at home between races, even if it meant arriving at the circuit later than usual.
"No, I don’t think I’ll miss a race," the Monegasque driver explained. "I don’t think I’ll miss a race, but obviously I’ll do absolutely everything to be at home as much as possible in between those races.
"So, I might arrive a little bit late. But I will be doing the races on Sunday."
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Leclerc arrived at the United States Grand Prix weekend fifth in the drivers' standings with 215 points, 125 behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
The 29-year-old predicted a tight field between the top four teams at the Circuit of the Americas.
"I expect a very tight top four teams, that's for sure," Leclerc told Motorsport.com and other media. "That's what we've seen recently, is that as soon as someone brings an upgrade, even if it's not a very significant one, that's enough to go from fourth in this group to first in this group, and Red Bull have shown that very well.
"And I hope we'll show that this weekend with a few upgrades we brought. But it's nothing significant on paper that shouldn't change the hierarchy that we've seen in the past races. But yeah, I strongly believe that it will be very tight, just like it's been in the last few races."
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