Leclerc Cautions Ferrari Fans: Recent Upgrades ‘Not Enough’ for Season-Long Dominance

Charles Leclerc cautions that Ferrari's recent upgrade is 'insufficient' for 'securing race victories for the remainder of the season.'

"Is it sufficient to secure race wins for the rest 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 consistently compete with McLaren throughout the rest of the 2024 F1 season.

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

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

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

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

"We need to proceed carefully," he stated. "Following the Monaco race, we've experienced the four most challenging races of the season, as Monaco's track was particularly suited to our car then. Similarly, Monza is a unique and distinctive circuit."

"There were many straight sections and only a few turns. We had a specially designed rear wing for this track, which contributed to our victory today. We also introduced another improvement that I believe brought us closer to McLaren's performance, but I don't think it's sufficient to make us the dominant car for the remainder of the season on other circuits."

"Although there is still much to be done, I'm very pleased to have secured one here in Italy."

Although Leclerc has faced difficulties since Monaco, 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 minimized expectations, referencing similar championship challenge discussions that emerged after his Monaco victory.

"We had a strong performance this weekend, but Baku might be quite different, and Singapore will also present unique challenges. Therefore, we need to adjust our approach. We made adjustments between Monaco and Montreal, and as demonstrated, the transition from Monaco to Montreal involved significant changes from one weekend to the next."

"We experienced three or four of the toughest races this season while trying to figure out the issues with our car. Hopefully, we won't face such difficult races again, and I believe that won't happen."

"However, it's crucial that both the team and external expectations remain grounded from one race to the next, as setting overly high hopes is unrealistic."

"Have we made progress? Yes. Is it sufficient to start winning races consistently for the rest of the season? Not quite yet, but it’s definitely a move in the right direction."

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