Leclerc Cautions Ferrari’s Upgrade Not Sufficient for Season-Long Victory Run Despite Italian GP Triumph

Charles Leclerc cautions that Ferrari's improvements are insufficient for consistent race victories throughout the season.

"Will it be sufficient for us to secure victories for the remainder of the season? I believe we're not there yet, but we've certainly made a positive move towards it."

Charles Leclerc has cautioned that Ferrari must enhance their performance to maintain a competitive edge against 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 McLaren's 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 unveiled a substantial upgrade for the Italian Grand Prix, aimed at addressing their issues with bouncing.

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

"He emphasized the need for caution, stating, 'Following Monaco, it seems we've encountered our most challenging four races of the season. This was due to Monaco's uniqueness being particularly suited to our car then. Similarly, Monza presents its own unique and distinct challenges."

The circuit featured numerous straight paths and few bends. For this particular race, our car was equipped with a rear wing, contributing significantly to our victory. Additionally, we implemented another enhancement that seemingly narrowed the gap between us and McLaren. However, I believe this improvement still falls short of making our vehicle the dominant contender for the upcoming races on different circuits.

"I believe there's still much to accomplish, yet I'm genuinely pleased to secure a victory here in Italy."

Despite facing challenges since the Monaco Grand Prix, Leclerc is only 24 points behind Norris in the drivers' standings.

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

However, Leclerc has tempered expectations, referencing similar discussions about a title contention after his victory in Monaco.

"This weekend, we've shown remarkable strength, but Baku could present a completely different scenario, and then Singapore might change things once more. Therefore, it's crucial for us to recalibrate. We managed to make this adjustment from Monaco to Montreal. However, the transition from Monaco to Montreal demonstrated a significant shift from one race weekend to the next."

"Following that, we endured three or four of the season's most challenging races as we were attempting to decipher the issues with our car. We're hopeful that moving forward, we won't have to face another series of such tough races, and I believe we won't have to."

"However, it's crucial that both the team and, I believe, the external expectations don't suddenly skyrocket from one race to the next, as this isn't a realistic viewpoint."

"Have we made progress? Absolutely. Does this mean we're ready to secure victories for the rest of the season? I'm not convinced we're there just yet, but we've certainly moved in the right direction."

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