Leclerc Cautions Ferrari: Upgrades Insufficient for Season-Long Wins Despite Monza Triumph

Charles Leclerc cautions that Ferrari's latest upgrade is ‘insufficient’ to secure victories for the rest of the season.

"Do I believe it's enough to start winning races from now until the season's end? Not quite yet, but we've 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, outpacing McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Before Piastri took his second trip to the pits, Leclerc was trailing by five seconds, underscoring McLaren's superior speed at Monza.

Ferrari unveiled a major enhancement package for the Italian Grand Prix, aimed at resolving their issues with car bouncing.

During the FIA press briefing following the Monza race, Leclerc advised Ferrari to "remain vigilant".

"We need to be careful," he stated. "Following Monaco, I believe we've experienced the four most challenging races of the season, since Monaco was uniquely suited to our car at that moment. Monza, too, is a highly unique and specialized circuit."

“There were many straight sections and few curves on the track. We had a rear wing specifically designed for this course, which contributed to our victory today. Additionally, we implemented another upgrade that I believe has narrowed the gap between us and McLaren. However, I doubt this will make our car unbeatable on other tracks for the remainder of the season.”

“We still have plenty to accomplish, but I'm truly pleased to have one here in Italy.”

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

In the constructors' standings, Ferrari trails Red Bull by only 39 points.

However, Leclerc has minimized the expectations, referring to the similar discussions about a championship challenge that arose after his victory in Monaco.

"We performed exceptionally well this weekend, but Baku might present a completely different challenge, and Singapore will likely be different yet again. Therefore, we need to recalibrate our approach. We successfully adjusted our strategy from Monaco to Montreal, but the transition between those weekends was quite significant."

"We experienced some of the toughest races of the season as we tried to figure out the issues with our car. Hopefully, we won't face several more challenging races ahead, and I believe that we won't."

"However, it's crucial that both the team and external expectations remain grounded and don't skyrocket from one race to the next, as that wouldn't be realistic."

"Did we make progress? Yes. Is it sufficient to win races for the rest of the season? Not quite yet, but we've definitely moved in the right direction."

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