Leclerc Cautions Ferrari Fans: Monza Upgrade Not Enough for Season-Long Dominance

Charles Leclerc cautions that Ferrari's improvement is ‘insufficient’ to ‘secure victories for the remainder of the season’

"Is it sufficient to secure victories for the rest of the season? I don't believe so, but we have made significant progress in the right direction."

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

Leclerc secured his second win of the season by using a one-stop strategy to surpass McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

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

Ferrari unveiled a major enhancement package for the Italian Grand Prix, focused on addressing their issues with bouncing.

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

"We need to be careful," he stated. "Following the Monaco race, I believe we've experienced the four most challenging races of the season, as Monaco suited our car's unique characteristics at that moment. Monza is another track with its own distinct and unique features.

“There were many straight sections and only a few turns. We had a rear wing specifically designed for this track, which contributed to our victory today. We also had another upgrade that certainly helped us get closer to McLaren's performance, but I don't believe it will make us the dominant car on other tracks for the remainder of the season.”

"We have plenty of work ahead, but I'm truly pleased to have one here in Italy."

Even with a challenging period post-Monaco, Leclerc is only 24 points behind Norris in the drivers' standings.

Likewise, in the constructors' standings, Ferrari is trailing Red Bull by only 39 points.

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

"This weekend we performed exceptionally well, but the situation in Baku may be quite different, and Singapore will also present unique challenges. Therefore, we need to adjust our approach accordingly. We successfully made adjustments when transitioning from Monaco to Montreal, and as evidenced by the significant shift from one weekend to the next, it was a substantial change."

"We then experienced three or four of the most challenging races of the season as we tried to figure out the issues with our car. Hopefully, we won't face such tough races again moving forward, and I don't believe we will."

"However, it's crucial to maintain realistic expectations, not just within the team but also from external observers, rather than letting them skyrocket from one race to the next."

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

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