Charles Leclerc Urges Caution Despite Ferrari’s Victory at Monza: ‘Upgrades Not Enough to Win Season-Long Race Battle

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

"Is it adequate to achieve race wins for the rest of the season? Probably not yet, but we have made significant progress."

Charles Leclerc has cautioned that Ferrari must improve their performance to reliably 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 drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Prior to Piastri's second pit stop, Leclerc trailed by five seconds, underscoring McLaren's dominance 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 mentioned. “Following Monaco, we experienced what I believe were the four most challenging races of the season, as Monaco's track suited our car's setup at that point. Monza, too, is a unique and distinct circuit.”

“There were many straight sections and few turns on this track. We used a rear wing specifically designed for this course, which contributed to our victory today. We also introduced another upgrade that brought us closer to McLaren’s performance. However, I don’t believe this will make us the leading car for the rest of the season on different tracks.”

"I believe there's still much to accomplish, but I'm very pleased to have secured one here in Italy."

Although Leclerc has faced difficulties since the Monaco race, he 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 tried to temper expectations, referencing the similar discussions about a championship bid after his victory in Monaco.

"We performed exceptionally well this weekend, but the situation in Baku might be quite different, and Singapore will likely differ again. Therefore, we need to adjust our approach. We made such an adjustment from Monaco to Montreal, but as demonstrated, the shift from one weekend to the next was substantial."

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

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

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

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