F1 | Leclerc: “Max still far away, but that's why I'm optimistic”

Charles Leclerc hopes for a linear weekend without unexpected events. The analyzes on the problem that affected his Bahrain Grand Prix are still underway between the Ferrari and Brembo technicians. “I'm optimistic, the first race of the year didn't allow me to understand our potential – explained Charles – and I can't really wait to start this weekend. I hope I can be closer (to Verstappen) but I prefer to wait a few more races before judging what our strong points and weaknesses are, today it is too early to say.”

“Regarding last Saturday's brake problems – continued Leclerc – I can say that immediately after the race our attention was turned to analyzing what happened, and I hope that everything can be resolved. To be clear, it was a problem that we had never had before and which proved to be very time-consuming, especially in the first half of the race where it was extremely difficult to manage the car.”

In the Jeddah paddock, Max Verstappen's victory by a wide margin in Bahrain is still being commented on. There are those who fear a 2023-bis, and those who are convinced that something in the general script of the season will be different compared to twelve months ago. “Now we are not able to worry Max – clarified Leclerc – but I think we are in a much better situation than last year, I remember well that twelve months ago after the first race we were busy solving problems rather than concentrating on the necessary updates to optimize the single-seater. Considering the car is in a much better position this year, I'd say we can focus on future updates. However, to be clear, Max is still too far away today.”

But there is no trace of disappointment on the Leclerc front, the focus is on the medium and long term, without frustration. “To be honest I'm just focusing on our performance. We have a lot of things to address within the team, the future development is very clear. We are all focusing on our car, and I can say the team is in a positive moment, the good momentum we have had since the second part of last season is continuing. Again, now we're excited to get back on track to get more data that we'll need to define the updates as quickly as possible and hopefully put as much pressure on Max as possible.”

From tomorrow the challenge will begin with the Jeddah circuit, one of the most demanding and stressful for the drivers. “The approach must be cautious – confirmed Charles – as in all street circuits. Exceeding the limit, even by a little, means having a great chance of ending up against a wall, and that's exactly what you have to avoid on a track like this. There will be a great evolution, and if you do a good job you can get everyone together in Q3, when it needs to be done.”

Finally, Leclerc criticized the proposal to change the sporting regulations, increasing the penalty in case of multiple track limits from 5 to 10 seconds. “It seems like an excessive sanction to me, the objective should be to find a way to help us manage the car in certain situations in which we struggle to see the white line. I think 5 seconds was already a long time, 10 is definitely too much.”