Leclerc: Ferrari still a bit behind Red Bull Racing

Last year, Charles Leclerc was seen as Max Verstappen’s main title contender until Ferrari ran into trouble, causing the team to slow down both figuratively and literally. Today at the FIA ​​press conference, Charles was asked if he and the team could take Red Bull Racing off the podium this year.

Charles Leclerc: “Certainly, this is the goal. Red Bull and Max are starting the season strong, although so far only tests are behind and it is very difficult to determine the size of their lead, but it looks like they are slightly ahead of us.

This means we have something to work on, but everything is just getting started. However, we have set ourselves just such a task: to step up. I’m not going to tell you to what extent we kept our speed potential hidden during testing, but we also didn’t open up all the cards at Red Bull – no one did. It is difficult to judge at what level we are now, but a general analysis of the picture suggests that we are a little behind. However, I suggest waiting for qualifications.

It’s important to start the season off right, but it’s probably even more important to upgrade the car throughout the year. So far I can say that the tests went well in terms of mileage, we did a lot of laps, completed the whole program and we had no technical problems at all, which is also very important.

It is also too early to judge what has changed for the Scuderia with the arrival of Frederic Vasseur, the new team leader, but we can already say that he is excellent at delivering the most efficient work of the entire team, creating the best conditions for him. We are already seeing the benefits of this approach, but on track he has only worked with the team for three days.

Let’s see how it goes and I’m sure he will discover a lot of new things already during this race weekend, he will understand how the team works during the Grand Prix days. But the first impressions are already quite good, Vasser can manage such a large team.”