Charles Leclerc Urges Caution Despite Ferrari’s Progress: ‘Not Enough to Win Races Until End of Season

Charles Leclerc cautions that Ferrari's recent improvements are insufficient to secure victories for the remainder of the season. "Will it be enough for us to consistently win races from now until the season's end? I don't believe so, but we have made significant progress."

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

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

Prior to Piastri's second pit stop, Leclerc was trailing by five seconds, underscoring McLaren's dominance with the fastest car at Monza.

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

During the FIA press conference held after the Monza race, Leclerc advised Ferrari to "exercise caution".

"We need to be careful," he stated. "Following Monaco, I believe we've experienced the four toughest races of the season, as Monaco was uniquely suited to our car at that moment. Monza is another track that is quite unique and distinct."

"There were many straight sections and only a few turns. We had a rear wing designed specifically for this track, which contributed to our victory today. Additionally, we introduced another upgrade that I believe has narrowed the gap between us and McLaren. However, I don't think this will make our car the one to beat on other tracks for the remainder of the season."

“We still have plenty of work ahead, but I'm very pleased to have achieved this in Italy.”

Despite experiencing a challenging period since the Monaco race, Leclerc is only 24 points behind Norris in the drivers' standings.

In the constructors' standings, Ferrari trails Red Bull by only 39 points.

However, Leclerc has tempered expectations, pointing out that there were similar discussions about a championship bid after his victory in Monaco.

"We performed exceptionally well this weekend, but Baku might present a completely different challenge, and Singapore will likely be distinct as well. Therefore, we need to recalibrate our approach. We managed to do that recalibration when transitioning from Monaco to Montreal. However, as evidenced by the significant shift between those two weekends, the differences can be substantial."

"We experienced a series of three or four extremely challenging races as we attempted to figure out the issues with our car. Looking ahead, I am hopeful we won't face another string of tough races, and I believe that situation is unlikely to happen again."

"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 for us to win races for the rest of the season? Not quite yet, but we're moving in the right direction."

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