A Ferrari as the second force in the World Championship is good news, but only for the start of the season. It is clear that a team of the caliber of the Modena team cannot be satisfied with being the first of the others, but has the duty to always aim for the maximum.
The first two races of the 2024 season spoke clearly: only Red Bull is stronger than the Red. But, as mentioned, not only is it not enough, but it cannot even be a small consolation. This is a starting point, but the aspirations and expectations of the Prancing Horse staff remain as high as possible.
Charles Leclerc, after obtaining the first podium of the season in Jeddah, expressed moderate optimism about Ferrari's chances of recovery during the season, even if the first components made for the developments of the SF-24 will not arrive in Melbourne, home of the next seasonal event set in just over a week in Australia.
“We are taking small steps in the right direction. The gap to Red Bull is still considerable, but if we continue to work like this, I'm sure it will only be a matter of time before we put Red Bull under more pressure.”
Jerome Lafarge, Red Bull Racing, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“I don't think we'll have much new about the car in Melbourne, so at the moment we'll just have to maximize our current package.”
“This is our situation at the moment. I think we will have to wait and see when we will have new components of the car and what kind of step forward we will make. Hopefully this will bring us closer to Red Bull.”
Like team principal Frédéric Vasseur, Leclerc thinks that Red Bull's advantage over Ferrari is around 3-4 tenths per lap. A much smaller margin than what we saw last season, but still very large in Formula 1, enough to allow the Milton Keynes team to score two doubles between Sakhir and Jeddah.
“At the moment Red Bull has an average of 3-4 tenths on us. And in Formula 1, 3 or 4 tenths is a lot in the world of motorsport. However, if you consider each component of the single-seater, if the profit is 1 cent per piece, then it's easy to earn immediately.”
“In recent months we are the team that has improved the most because we have worked very well and we must continue to do so. It is very clear which areas we need to work on.”
“I'm sure our time will come. I don't know what Red Bull has in store in terms of upgrades, but this will define when we will be able to match them,” concluded the Monegasque driver.
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