Leclerc Issues Reality Check Despite Ferrari’s Monza Triumph: ‘Upgrades Not Enough to Win Races Consistently

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

"Is it sufficient to secure wins for the remainder of the season? I don't believe so yet, but it is a significant move towards the right path."

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, allowing him to outperform McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Prior to Piastri's second pit stop, Leclerc trailed by five seconds, underscoring that McLaren had the fastest vehicle 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 race at Monza, Leclerc advised Ferrari to "exercise caution."

"We need to be careful," he stated. "Following the Monaco race, I believe we've experienced the four toughest races of the season, since Monaco suited our car's characteristics perfectly at that moment. Monza is another track that is quite unique and specialized."

"There were many straight sections and few turns on this track. We equipped a rear wing specifically designed for this circuit, which played a key role in our victory today. Additionally, we made another upgrade that I believe has significantly closed the gap between us and McLaren. However, I doubt that this improvement will make us the dominant car for the remainder of the season on different tracks."

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

Leclerc is only 24 points behind Norris in the drivers' standings, despite having faced challenges since the Monaco race.

In the constructors' championship, Ferrari is trailing Red Bull by only 39 points.

However, Leclerc has minimized the hype, referencing previous discussions about a championship bid after his victory in Monaco.

"We performed exceptionally well this weekend, but Baku could present a completely different challenge, and Singapore will likely be very distinct as well. Therefore, we need to start fresh each time. We managed to reset our approach from Monaco to Montreal, but as demonstrated, the transition between these two weekends was quite significant."

"We then experienced three or four of the most challenging races of the season as we tried to figure out the issues with our car. Hopefully, we won't face another set of tough races moving forward, and I believe that won't happen."

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

"Have we made progress? Yes. Is it sufficient to win races for the rest of the season? Not quite yet, but we're heading in the right direction."

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