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Leclerc Cautions Ferrari Upgrades Insufficient for Season-Long Victory Chase Despite Italian GP Win
Charles Leclerc cautions that Ferrari's improvement is insufficient for 'victory in the remaining season's races'
"Will it suffice for us to secure victories for the rest of the season? I'm not convinced it will, but we've certainly made a significant move towards the right path."
Charles Leclerc has cautioned that Ferrari must enhance their performance to regularly compete with McLaren throughout the rest of the 2024 F1 season.
Leclerc secured his second win of the year, leveraging a single pit stop strategy to outperform the McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Prior to Piastri's second visit to the pits, Leclerc trailed by five seconds, underscoring McLaren's speed advantage at Monza.
Ferrari unveiled a major update kit for the Italian Grand Prix, aimed at addressing their issues with car bouncing.
In the FIA press conference following the Monza race, Leclerc advised Ferrari to proceed with caution.
"He emphasized the need for caution," he remarked. "Following Monaco, it seems we've encountered our four most challenging races of the season, given how Monaco uniquely suited our car then. Additionally, Monza presents its own set of unique and distinct challenges."
"The track featured many straight sections and few turns. Our victory today was aided by a specific rear wing designed for this circuit. Additionally, we introduced another enhancement that I believe narrowed the gap with McLaren. However, I'm not convinced that this improvement alone will position us as the dominant car for the remainder of the season on different circuits."
"I believe there's still much to accomplish, yet I'm genuinely pleased to have achieved this in Italy."
Following a challenging period after Monaco, Leclerc is only 24 points behind Norris in the drivers' championship standings.
In the constructors' standings, Ferrari trails Red Bull by a mere 39 points.
However, Leclerc has tempered anticipations, referencing previous discussions about a potential championship bid after his victory in Monaco.
"This weekend, we've shown a lot of strength, but the upcoming race in Baku could present a completely different challenge, and then Singapore will be another distinct scenario. Therefore, we need to adjust our approach. We managed to make such an adjustment moving from Monaco to Montreal, and as we observed, the shift from one race to the next was quite substantial."
"Following that, we experienced some of the most challenging races of the season, a result of us attempting to figure out the issues with our car. We're hopeful that moving forward, we won't have to endure such difficult races again, and I believe that won't happen."
"However, it's crucial that both the team and, I believe, external expectations remain grounded and don't escalate wildly from one race to the next, as that would be unrealistic."
"Have we made progress? Absolutely. Does this mean we're set to dominate the races for the rest of the season? I'm not convinced we're there just yet, but we've certainly moved positively forward."
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