Charles Leclerc says the next four races are going to be crucial in terms of his championship battle this season.

Leclerc has seen the title battle shift firmly out of his hands in recent weeks, with poor reliability, poor pit calls and poor fortune combining to leave him now 49 points off of Max Verstappen in the standings.

There are still plenty of races left to try and turn things around, though, and Leclerc is eyeing a big weekend here at Silverstone to kickstart a crucial run of four European races in five weeks.

Speaking to the press here at the British circuit, the Monegasque said:

“I love it here. I love the track. I love fast corners in general.

“This year we’ve got a bit more of a competitive car compared to the last times we came here, so hopefully we can have a clean weekend finally, because since Miami it’s not been great. So hopefully we can get back on track and get back a win.

“I think the next four races will be very important, just before the summer break, to go into the holidays with four good races would be great. So now we need to focus on ourselves.

“I think the performance is there. If we’ve got clean weekends, I’m pretty sure the results will follow. But again, we just need to focus on ourselves and then the results will come.”

Ferrari have a good enough car to turn the deficit around but if it continues to prove unreliable they can kiss the championship goodbye for another year.

They need to be spot on for the rest of the season and it remains to be seen if they can achieve that.