Leclerc Cautions Ferrari: Upgrades Not Enough to Secure 2024 F1 Title, More Work Needed to Challenge McLaren

Charles Leclerc cautions that the recent Ferrari improvements are ‘insufficient’ to ‘secure victories for the remainder of the season.’

"Will this be enough to win races for the rest of the season? I don't believe so, but we have certainly made significant progress."

Charles Leclerc has cautioned that Ferrari must improve their performance to regularly compete with McLaren throughout the rest of the 2024 F1 season.

Leclerc secured his second win of the season by utilizing a one-stop strategy to outperform McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Leclerc was trailing by five seconds before Piastri's second pit stop, which underscored that McLaren had the fastest car at Monza.

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

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

"We need to be careful," he stated. "Since Monaco, I believe we've experienced the four most challenging races of the season, due to Monaco's unique suitability to our vehicle at that moment. Monza is another track with its own unique characteristics."

“There were many straight sections and few turns. We had a rear wing specifically designed for this track, which contributed to our victory today. We also implemented another upgrade that I believe has brought us closer to McLaren's performance level. However, I don't think this will make us the leading car on other tracks for the remainder of the season.”

"We still have a significant amount 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 minimized the high hopes, referencing the comparable discussions about a championship bid after his victory in Monaco.

"We performed exceptionally well this weekend, but Baku will likely present a different challenge, and Singapore will again be unique. It's important for us to adapt accordingly. We made adjustments moving from Monaco to Montreal, and as evidenced by the drastic shift between these two events, each weekend can bring significant changes."

"We had a stretch of three or four really tough races as we tried to figure out the issues with our car. I hope we don’t face another series of challenging races like that, and I don't expect we will."

"However, it's crucial for both the team and external observers to manage their expectations and not let them skyrocket after a single race, as this wouldn't be realistic."

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

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