Charles Leclerc: I have confidence in Ferrari’s prospects

Charles Leclerc summarized the season in Abu Dhabi on Thursday and promised that Ferrari will do everything it can in the winter to reduce the gap with Red Bull Racing.

Charles Leclerc: “The most memorable stage of this season was the previous race in Las Vegas. But the season as a whole was disappointing.

After 2022 we expected to fight for the title, but after the first race we realized how difficult this task is. Red Bull has made huge progress, especially in terms of race pace, and we have not been able to make the same step forward.

On the one hand, we are disappointed, but on the other hand, if we forget the 2022 results, we have made significant progress this season, so I am confident in the team’s prospects.

We plan to work hard over the winter break to come back stronger next year with a car that can win.”

Commenting on the chances of beating Mercedes into second place in the Constructors’ Championship, Charles said: “It will obviously be a close race between us, but we have upped the pace after a few successful races for us. Traditionally, Mercedes is quite fast at the Abu Dhabi circuit, but from our side we will do everything we can to stay ahead of them in the Constructors’ Championship. This is our clear goal.

It’s hard to predict whether we or they will have the faster car this weekend, because it depends on a lot of little things. As I said, Mercedes has been fast here in recent years, the battle is expected to be fierce and the outcome will depend on who optimizes the car best. We will focus on this during training.

The two previous races were positive for us in terms of speed and everyone in the team is extremely motivated to stay ahead of Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship. We have gained good speed, but there is still a lot of work to be done on the track. “Everything has to be perfect this weekend to stay ahead of Mercedes.”