F1
Leclerc Issues Caution: Ferrari Upgrades May Fall Short in Ongoing Battle with McLaren
Charles Leclerc cautions that Ferrari's recent improvements are insufficient for consistently winning races for the rest of the season. He acknowledges progress but asserts it's not yet at a winning level.
Charles Leclerc has cautioned that Ferrari must improve their performance in order to consistently compete with McLaren throughout the rest of the 2024 F1 season.
Leclerc secured his second win of the season by effectively utilizing a one-stop strategy, allowing him to outperform the McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Prior to Piastri's second visit to the pit lane, Leclerc trailed by five seconds, underscoring McLaren's dominance at Monza.
Ferrari unveiled a major upgrade package for the Italian Grand Prix, aimed at resolving their issues with car bouncing.
During the FIA press conference following the race at Monza, Leclerc advised Ferrari to "exercise caution."
"We need to be careful," he remarked. "Following Monaco, I believe we've experienced the four most challenging races of the season, as Monaco was uniquely suited to our car's capabilities at that moment. Monza, too, is a unique and distinct circuit."
“There were many straight sections and few turns. We had a special rear wing suited for this track, which contributed to our victory today. Additionally, we introduced another upgrade that has certainly narrowed the gap with McLaren. However, I believe it's still not sufficient to make us the dominant car for the rest of the season on other circuits.”
"We still have plenty to accomplish, but I'm thrilled to have achieved this in Italy."
Although Leclerc has faced challenges since Monaco, he 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 tempered expectations by referencing similar discussions about a championship bid after his victory in Monaco.
“This weekend has shown our strength, but the situation in Baku could be quite different, and Singapore will present its own unique challenges. We need to recalibrate our approach. We made significant adjustments moving from Monaco to Montreal, and as the transition from Monaco to Montreal demonstrated, there can be substantial differences from one weekend to the next."
"Following that, we endured three or four of the most challenging races of the season as we worked to figure out the issues with our car. I'm hopeful that we won't face another set of tough races like that moving forward, and I don't believe we will."
"However, it's crucial that both the team and external expectations remain grounded and don't skyrocket from one race to the next, as this isn't realistic."
"Have we made progress? Yes. Is it sufficient to start winning races for the rest of the season? I don't believe so at this point, but we've definitely moved in the right direction."
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