Charles Leclerc: Ferrari’s Upgrades Insufficient for Season-Long Victory Run Despite Monza Triumph

Charles Leclerc cautions that the Ferrari improvements are ‘insufficient’ to ‘secure victories for the remainder of the season’

"Is it sufficient to start winning races consistently for the rest of the season? I don't believe so at this point, but we have made significant progress."

Charles Leclerc has cautioned that Ferrari must enhance their performance further to reliably compete with McLaren throughout the rest of the 2024 F1 season.

Leclerc secured his second win of the season by effectively utilizing a one-stop strategy, allowing him to outpace McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Prior to Piastri's second pit stop, Leclerc trailed by five seconds, underscoring that McLaren had the fastest car at Monza.

Ferrari unveiled a major update for the Italian Grand Prix, aimed at resolving their issues with car bouncing.

During the FIA press conference following the Monza race, Leclerc advised Ferrari to exercise caution.

"We need to be careful," he stated. "Following Monaco, I believe we experienced the four most challenging races of the season, as Monaco's unique characteristics suited our car at that moment. Similarly, Monza is a highly distinctive and unique circuit."

"There were many straight sections and few curves. We equipped a rear wing specifically designed for this track, which contributed to our victory today. We also introduced another upgrade that I believe has brought us closer to McLaren's performance level. However, I don't think it's sufficient to make our car the one to beat on other tracks for the remainder of the season."

"We still have a significant amount of work ahead of us, but I'm very pleased to have achieved one here in Italy nonetheless."

Although Leclerc has faced challenges since the Monaco race, he is only 24 points behind Norris in the drivers' standings.

In the constructors' championship, Ferrari is trailing Red Bull by only 39 points.

However, Leclerc has tempered expectations by referencing the similar speculation about a championship bid after his victory in Monaco.

“We performed exceptionally well this weekend, but Baku may present a completely different challenge, and Singapore will likely be distinct as well. Therefore, we need to recalibrate. We previously adjusted ourselves from Monaco to Montreal, but as evidenced by the significant shift between these two weekends, the changes were substantial.”

"We then experienced three or four of the toughest races of the season as we tried to figure out the issues with our car. Hopefully, we won't face another string of challenging races moving forward, and I believe that won't happen."

"However, it's crucial that both the team and external expectations remain grounded and don't skyrocket from one race to the next, as that wouldn't be realistic."

"Have we made progress? Yes. Is it sufficient to start winning races for the remainder of the season? I don't believe so, but we have definitely moved in the right direction."

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