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

Charles Leclerc cautions that Ferrari's recent improvements are 'insufficient' for 'winning races for the rest of the season'

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

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 using a one-stop strategy to outpace McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Prior to Piastri's second pit stop, Leclerc was trailing by five seconds, which underscored McLaren's dominant speed at Monza.

Ferrari unveiled a major improvement package aimed at addressing their bouncing issues during the Italian Grand Prix.

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

"We need to tread carefully," he remarked. "Following Monaco, I believe we've experienced the toughest four races of the season. Monaco suited our car's unique characteristics at that time, and Monza is also a highly specialized and unique circuit."

“There were many straight sections and few turns on this track. We used a rear wing specifically designed for this layout, which contributed to our victory today. We also implemented another upgrade that I believe has closed the gap between us and McLaren, but I doubt it will make us the leading car for the remainder of the season on different tracks.”

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

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, referring to comparable discussions about a championship bid after his victory in Monaco.

"We performed exceptionally well this weekend, but Baku could present a completely new set of challenges, and Singapore will likely be different again. Therefore, we need to start fresh. We successfully transitioned from Monaco to Montreal, but the shift from one weekend to the next was quite significant, as we observed from Monaco to Montreal."

"We then experienced three or four of the most challenging races of the season as we attempted to figure out the issues with our car. I hope that we won't face such difficult races again moving forward, and I believe that won't happen."

"However, it's crucial that both the team and those outside maintain realistic expectations and avoid letting them skyrocket from one race to the next."

"Have we made progress? Yes. Is it sufficient to secure victories for the rest of the season? Not quite, but we've definitely moved in the right direction."

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