EXCLUSIVE - No vegan, but Leclerc is happy to investigate

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SHOWS: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (OCTOBER 23, 2019) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

1. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FERRARI DRIVER, CHARLES LECLERC, SAYING:

"No, I'm not vegan. I'm obviously looking at all of these things and whatever I can do on my side to help that, I will. But on the other hand, I want to be at 100% in the physical form and I've got some programmes to follow, but obviously I'm looking into that too."

2. WHITE FLASH

3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FERRARI DRIVER, CHARLES LECLERC, SAYING:

"Yes, I mean, I think (Mercedes driver) Lewis (Hamilton) is a good example of going vegan, if I'm not wrong. But yeah, at the moment, I think different drivers have different opinions on that. And at the moment, I'm just trying to follow the best way and the way I feel the best with myself. And yeah, I'm happy like that."

4. WHITE FLASH

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FERRARI DRIVER, CHARLES LECLERC, SAYING:

"It's a very special track because we are very high in altitude. So yes, it's a bit different for the setup and things like that we need to consider. And it's also a very tough track for the car. So, we need to make sure reliability will be strong. But overall, I think as track characteristics, I think we should be quite good. There are long straights, our engine seems to be working pretty well. Our straight-line speed is good and our cornering speed now since some races is also good. So yeah, let's see how it goes but I'm feeling positive."

STORY: Charles Leclerc likes a nice steak and is a long way from following Lewis Hamilton in going vegan but, like every Formula One driver, Ferrari's young ace is interested in any advantage he can get.

The 21-year-old Monegasque is therefore not ruling out making some changes to his diet after a season that has catapulted him into the spotlight as the Italian team's brightest young prospect.

Five times world champion Hamilton recently stirred up a storm on social media with Instagram posts expressing despair at the state of the planet and urging people to go vegan.

Next season, if Ferrari can carry their gathering momentum into 2020, could even see Leclerc challenging for the championship after losing out to Hamilton's Mercedes outfit this year.

Ferrari go into Sunday's (October 27) Mexican Grand Prix with high hopes, literally at a track some 2,200 metres above sea level, and Leclerc recognised there was a chance of adding a third win to his season's tally.