Leclerc Cautions Against Over-Optimism Despite Ferrari’s Monza Victory: ‘Not Enough to Win Races Until End of Season

Charles Leclerc cautions that Ferrari's latest upgrade is ‘insufficient’ for ‘winning races for the remainder of the season’

"Is it sufficient to secure victories for the rest of the season? I doubt it, but we've made considerable progress in the right direction."

Charles Leclerc has cautioned that Ferrari must improve their performance to regularly compete with McLaren throughout the rest of the 2024 Formula 1 season.

Charles Leclerc secured his second win of the season, leveraging a one-stop pit strategy to outpace McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Prior to Piastri’s second pit stop, Leclerc was trailing by five seconds, underscoring that McLaren possessed the fastest vehicle at Monza.

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

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

"We need to exercise caution," he remarked. "Following Monaco, I believe we've experienced the four most challenging races of the season, as Monaco's conditions were uniquely suited to our car at that moment. Monza is another track with its own unique characteristics."

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

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

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

In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari trails Red Bull by only 39 points.

However, Leclerc has tempered expectations, referencing previous discussions about a championship pursuit after his victory in Monaco.

"We performed exceptionally well this weekend, but Baku might be quite different, and Singapore will again present its own unique challenges. Therefore, we need to start fresh each time. We managed to do that transition from Monaco to Montreal successfully, but as evidenced, the shift from one weekend to the next was significant."

"We then experienced three or four of the toughest races of the season as we tried to figure out the issues with our car. I’m hopeful we won’t face another stretch of challenging races like that, and I believe it’s 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 because that's not realistic."

"Have we made progress? Yes. Is it sufficient to secure victories for the remainder of the season? Not quite yet, but we are moving in the right direction."

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