F1 | Leclerc: “With Vasseur we have clear ideas on where to improve”

The optimism is there, but not the typical one of an eve in which the aim is to win. Charles Leclerc took stock of the Jeddah weekend and the expectations of Melbourne, a clear analysis from the strengths of the SF23 to what is missing to try to put pressure on Red Bull.

Leclerc explained how he achieved the fastest lap in Jeddah, cooling a bit the enthusiasm of those who saw the Saudi race as a show of strength for Ferrari on the feared front of tire management. Charles then praised Bearman's debut and the Scuderia's work to prepare him as best as possible, predicting a full-time arrival in Formula 1 for him.

How do you judge the gap you have today towards Red Bull? Do you think it has been halved compared to a year ago?
“I find it quite difficult to compare gaps because every race is different. In 2023 in Jeddah I started from behind, I think twelfth (due to a penalty) so it is difficult to make comparisons, but I can say that the feeling we have is that of having taken a big step forward. In general in the last six or seven months we are the team that has improved the most, and this is a positive sign. We continue to do what we are doing and slowly I believe we will close the gap between us and Red Bull.”

You won on this track in 2022. Do you think you can have something more on this track to be able to aim for the maximum result?
“Two years ago was a very positive weekend, but again here in Melbourne 2023 proved to be much more difficult, the characteristics of last year's car didn't go very well with this track. Regarding the weekend ahead of us, I think we will be fairly consistent in terms of competitiveness. A weekend where you don't optimize the setup can happen, but I think we have a much stronger overall package than last year capable of protecting us from big ups and downs. In 2023 we paid a lot for the presence of the wind, we were very sensitive and as a result it happened that we struggled a lot in certain conditions, today this is no longer the case, we are more consistent in terms of potential. But now it's up to us to find more performance because that's obviously what we lack compared to Red Bull, especially in the race.”

You feel like you're in a better position, but do you think it's enough to challenge Red Bull?
“It's definitely a better situation than last year, but the gap in the race is still four tenths per lap, which is still significant. In general I am more optimistic, not so much for the gap, but for the general situation of the team, for the way in which we are working and for the very clear ideas regarding what we need to improve. This gives me the certainty that at some point in the season we will be there to put them under pressure, perhaps on some types of tracks. This is what gives me confidence, but at the moment the gap is still too big to realistically get a victory.”

Regarding the fastest lap you achieved in Jeddah, do you think that in terms of tire management you are now at Red Bull's level?
“Red Bull level? I do not believe. Regarding the fastest lap we had a DRS available in the last lap, it probably helped, but in the end I think it was a really good lap. In general the car behaved well in the last 15 laps, unfortunately I understood that there was nothing to do with Perez because he was 12 seconds ahead of me, to catch him I would have had to drive eight tenths faster than him every lap, which was impossible . So I decided to manage my race by aiming to save the tires for the last lap, and it worked. Overall I confirm that we have made a step forward in terms of tire degradation, but there is still work to do on this front. What we're missing at the moment isn't tire degradation but rather pace in general. When we run with a full tank of fuel the gap compared to the Red Bull increases.”

You spoke positively about the influence Vasseur's leadership had on the team. What are you referring to specifically?
“What's really important for Fred is to have very clear ideas and help the team choose the main areas to work on. If you analyze a weekend on the track there are a thousand things that can be optimised, but in the end you need to understand which are the three main ones to focus on. I think Fred was very clear about which directions to take and prioritize, and so far this approach has paid off.”

What do you think of Bearman's work in Jeddah? Can you imagine a Formula 1 debut in those circumstances without even having the first two free practice sessions available?
“The thing that impressed me most about Ollie's debut was the first three laps of FP3, he was immediately very fast, and this shows first of all how extraordinary the talent is. I am sure that his arrival in F.1 is only a question of time. Then we must also give credit to the good work done by the team to prepare him for that type of situation, the simulator is really excellent and very close to reality, obviously the tests he did in Fiorano also helped him, and you could see it straight away. If I think back to when I made my debut I must say that I wasn't ready like him, and we're not talking about many years ago! Ferrari did a great job preparing him and it was great to see him find a great pace straight away, as well as bring points to the team. He did an incredible job.”