Charles Leclerc's grim assessment of Ferrari's prospects for second half of 2024 F1 season
07/25/2024 03:19 AM
Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc has admitted that the Maranello team cannot be seen as favorites at any of the upcoming tracks in the Formula 1 calendar, with 11 rounds left in the current Formula 1 championship.
The Italian side began the season strongly, consistently securing podium finishes behind the dominant Red Bull team. However, recent races have seen McLaren and Mercedes close the gap on Red Bull.
Meanwhile, Ferrari has struggled to keep up with the development pace of their competitors and now clearly sits in fourth place in the standings, despite securing victories at the Albert Park circuit in the Australian Grand Prix with Carlos Sainz and on the streets of Monte Carlo in the Monaco Grand Prix with Charles Leclerc earlier this year. When questioned by the reports about whether any upcoming tracks might position Ferrari as favorites, Charles Leclerc responded:
"Not really. I mean, now if we stay like this with our car, I don't think so. Monaco is a very, very specific track, which we were very strong, but that doesn't mean that we'll be fast anywhere else during the season. So no, I don't think that on paper we are favourites anywhere." – the Monegasque driver explained ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, which is scheduled to take place this weekend at the 7.004-kilometre Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
Scuderia Ferrari has repeatedly claimed that the significant aerodynamic upgrade package introduced at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona a few months ago has substantial potential. However, realizing this potential has been the main challenge for the Italian side in the last five rounds, as the SF-24 car has exhibited noticeable bouncing at high speeds. Charles Leclerc has admitted that this problem won’t be resolved in time for this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.
"The understanding [with the floor] is there, it's going in the right direction for sure. The thing with the kind of issue we are facing is that it's either on or off, and it's very difficult to see the improvement. Maybe you have it for less time, and what I'm speaking of is mostly the bouncing, but it's not like you improve the intensity of it, so whenever you have it, you have it. So we are doing steps in the right direction, whether it will be enough to not have it, I'm not sure yet, and I will expect that in Spa it can be an issue again." – Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc concluded.
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