Charles Leclerc admits: "Carlos Sainz is performing better, but that's great for Ferrari"
18/04/2024 09:37
Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc acknowledges the quality of the work done in Formula 1 by his Maranello teammate Carlos Sainz. The Spanish driver has finished on the podium in every race he has entered — missing only the Jeddah round due to appendicitis — including an amazing victory at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne. For #16, on the other hand, there’s room for improvement, especially in the qualifying session. The focus is now on the Chinese Grand Prix, as the 5.451-kilometre Shanghai International Circuit could favor the SF-24 single-seater.
The drivers are starting to rev up for the first Sprint Weekend of the year. The Shanghai track, absent from the calendar since 2019, will host the fifth round of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship. All eyes are on the duel — currently "too" distant — between Scuderia Ferrari and Red Bull, with Charles Leclerc motivated to erase the mediocre performances of the last few Grands Prix. It’s time to do "a better job."
"[Carlos Sainz] is simply performing better than me," admitted the Monegasque in the press conference ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix – "It's hard to make comparisons to Bahrain, where I had issues, but he's been stronger in the last two races. It's up to me to work now, especially in qualifying, which has always been a strong point for me until now." – Charles Leclerc pointed out ahead of the Shanghai race – “I’m having difficulty putting the lap together," explains the Ferrari driver. "There's a very fine line between preparing it perfectly and completely wrong during the out-lap, getting the tires into the right operating window. For now, I’m having more difficulty than Carlos [Sainz] has."
"He's driving at very high levels and it's great for the team," concludes the Ferrari driver. "But it's also a good thing for me. I'm working hard on it, and usually, when I work on something I have a lot of confidence in, I manage to improve quickly. I'm not worried, but now I need to show it on the track starting from tomorrow."
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He also commented on the Shanghai track which, on paper, should bring Ferrari closer to Red Bull: "We might be stronger compared to Suzuka, but we will approach the weekend in the usual way." – Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc concluded.
Source: f1ingenerale
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