Charles Leclerc of Monaco, driving for Ferrari, expressed his disagreement with Lando Norris’ prediction that Ferrari could potentially defeat Red Bull in this weekend’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. Red Bull has dominated the competition since the introduction of ground effect cars in 2022 and has started the current season with back-to-back 1-2 finishes. However, Ferrari has emerged as the closest contender to the Austrian team in the early stages of the 2024 season, with Leclerc and his teammate Carlos Sainz both securing third-place finishes. Despite this, Leclerc believes that the gap to Red Bull is still too significant to realistically challenge for a victory based on pure speed. He remains optimistic about the overall progress of the team and their ability to put pressure on Red Bull in certain circuits throughout the season, but acknowledges that a normal win is currently out of reach.
Leclerc dominated the Melbourne weekend in 2022 to achieve his first Formula 1 grand slam, leading the entire race from pole position and also setting the fastest lap.
However, the driver from Monaco had a difficult start to the season last year, exiting the race on the first lap due to the unpredictable nature of the car he was driving.
With the introduction of a more stable SF-24 charger, Leclerc believes that Ferrari’s goal is to increase the amount of downforce in order to match the performance of Red Bull’s RB20.
“Two years ago was a very successful weekend. Last year was much more challenging as the car’s characteristics didn’t suit the track very well. However, I believe that this year we will be consistently competitive,” he explained.
“It’s normal to have weekends where the setup isn’t optimized and you struggle a bit more.
“I will be surprised if there are tracks where we perform significantly better or worse because our package is much stronger.
“Last year, we had a lot of difficulties, especially with the drivability of the car. We were extremely sensitive to wind direction, and whenever the wind was a certain way, we struggled a lot. But this year, that’s not the case.
“So I think we will be more consistent, but now it’s up to us to find more performance because that’s what we’re currently lacking, especially in the race compared to Red Bull.”