Charles Leclerc looking forward to continuing his season-long battle with Ferrari

Here's TopGear.com's roving correspondent, Cory Spondent, with his mostly incorrect exclusives from the world of motoring

After gaining the upper hand following victory at the Austrian Grand Prix, Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc has said he is looking forward to continuing his season-long battle with Ferrari.

The former championship-leading F1 ace said he is ‘relishing’ the second half of the 2022 F1 season and his gripping rivalry with his pit wall strategists and his own car.

“To be a great, world class Formula 1 driver you need a terrific rival,” said the man many believe to be a future world champion.

“In the old days you had such wonderful battles like Fangio vs Ascari, Senna vs Prost and Schumacher vs Hakkinen. Even today, you have big fights like Hamilton vs the FIA's completely logical jewellery ban.

“But I can say with utmost humility and honesty that my battle with my own team strategists will go down as possibly the greatest rivalry in the history of F1.”

Ferrari have pledged to up the stakes considerably over the second half of the season, with tactics likely to include reprogramming the intercom button so that it plays a whoopee cushion noise and swapping the brake and accelerator pedal around “just for fun”.

“Nothing is off the table,” Ferrari said. “Except the engine. We’re still working on that.”