In between, although Verstappen won the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from pole position at Imola, it was an uncomfortable weekend as Norris came within three-quarters of a second of securing back-to-back wins.
Around Monaco, a weakness of the RB20 was brutally exposed as it struggled to ride the kerbs, a crucial element that could again pose issues across this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Beyond that, however, Leclerc feels once F1 returns to Europe, there is a run of circuits that will likely play to Red Bull’s strengths.
“We are about to have three races in a row, including this one (Canada), where kerb riding and bumps are important,” said Leclerc, who goes into Sunday’s race trailing Verstappen by 31 points.
“Bumps are not so big here [the track was resurfaced over the winter] but kerb riding is a big thing. I think we will see a similar trend at this race but from Barcelona onwards, Red Bull will do a step up. I hope that’s not the case.
“We’ve done a good job when we look at the first part of our season considering we have been a step behind Red Bull. We are not that far, and we haven’t lost many points, and that’s the most important thing.
“We just need to keep focusing on ourselves, and hopefully bring new parts as quickly as possible to close the gap at tracks that are a bit more normal for Red Bull and put them under a bit more pressure.”
