Leclerc Cautions Ferrari Upgrades Not a Silver Bullet for Season-End Victories Despite Monza Triumph

Charles Leclerc cautions that Ferrari's improvements are insufficient for securing victories throughout the season's remainder. "Will it suffice to secure race wins for the rest of the season? I'm not convinced it will, though we've made a significant move towards the right path."

Charles Leclerc has cautioned that Ferrari must enhance their performance to reliably 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, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Prior to Piastri's second visit to the pit lane, Leclerc trailed by five seconds, underscoring McLaren's superior speed at Monza.

Ferrari rolled out a major update for the Italian Grand Prix, aimed at addressing their issues with bouncing.

During the FIA press briefing following the Monza race, Leclerc advised Ferrari to proceed with caution.

"He emphasized the need for caution, explaining, "Following Monaco, it seems we've encountered our toughest four races of the season, given how uniquely suited Monaco was to our car then. Similarly, Monza presents its own set of distinct challenges."

"The track featured numerous straight paths and fewer curves. Our victory today was aided by a rear wing specifically designed for this circuit. Additionally, we introduced another enhancement that, in my opinion, significantly narrowed the gap with McLaren. However, I don't believe this improvement alone will position us as the dominant car for the remainder of the season on different tracks."

"I believe there's still much to accomplish, yet I'm genuinely pleased to have achieved this in Italy."

Despite facing challenges since the Monaco race, 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 expectations, referring to previous discussions about a potential championship challenge after his victory in Monaco.

"We've shown great performance this weekend, however, the upcoming races in Baku and then Singapore could present a whole new set of challenges. Therefore, it's crucial for us to go back to the drawing board. We managed to make significant adjustments moving from Monaco to Montreal, and as evidenced by that transition, there was a substantial shift in dynamics from one race to the next."

"After that, we experienced some of the toughest races of the season, a result of trying to figure out the issues with our car. Hopefully, moving forward, we won't have to endure such difficult races again, and I believe that won't happen."

"However, it's crucial that not only the team members, but also the external expectations remain grounded and not skyrocket from one race to the next, as this isn't a realistic outlook."

"Did we make progress? Absolutely. Will this progress ensure our victory in the upcoming races for the rest of the season? I'm not quite convinced we're there yet, but we've certainly moved significantly closer to our goal."

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