Charles Leclerc believes the Alfa Romeo Sauber team maximised its p🍬otential to finish 13th in Sunday’s Formula 1 season-opener in Australia.

2017 Formula 2 champion Leclerc made his F1 d💫ebut at Albert Pa🗹rk on Sunday with Sauber, having qualified 18th.

The Monegasque driver manage🅘d to slowly rise through the field as drivers ahead hit trouble, as well as passing Williams’ Lance Stroll en route to 13th at the chequered flag.

“I am very happy about my day,” Leclerc said. “The start was not idea♏l – I had to catch up with the competitors ahead of me and slowly work my way forward.

“We maximised our potential and had a cons🅺istently good pace. I was able to overtake some of the cars, which was fun.

“Overall, it has been a positive weekend. We haveও made good progress since Friday and are at a good starting point.

“I have learned a lot and feel confident going into the next roun꧑d in Bahrain.”

Leclerc’s teammate, Marcus Ericsson, was forced to retire from the race after juওst four laps due to a hydraulic issue.

“The balance of 🧸the whole race weekend is positive, espeꦆcially considering the good progress we have made since Friday,” team principal Frederic Vasseur said.

“Regarding the race we have mixed feelings because🐟 Marcus was doing an impressive job after a good start. We will now analyse all the datಌa.

“Congratulations to Charles for his first race in Formula 1. It was im𝕴🐼portant for him to finish and he did a great job with tyre management and fuel saving.

“All in all, it’s a g🦹o🐻od feeling for the team and we are very motivated as we look forward to Bahrain.”