Charles Leclerc has claimed that Monza will “not be the best track” to assess Ferrari’s latest Formula 1 upgrades as he bids to land a podium at the Italian Grand Prix.
Ferrari began the season as the closest challenger to Red Bull with two victories and nine podiums in eight races prompting talk concerning a possible title challenge.
However, Ferrari’s campaign has unravelled since updates in Spain amplified the SF-24’s bouncing at high speed and led to it dropping behind McLaren and Mercedes.
The Italian marque is hedging its bets on developments this weekend to transpire its fortunes as it endeavours to produce an upturn in competitiveness on home soil.
But while Fernando Alonso has touted that Ferrari will be the team to beat this weekend, Leclerc suspects that replicating his Monza win in 2019 will be unachievable.
“I don’t believe the last two races change our expectations,” Leclerc, who took podiums in the Belgian and Dutch Grands Prix, told media including Motorsport Week.
“We are in a difficult moment for the team, we are struggling a little bit with pace at the moment.
“I think we understood quite a few things since then, but I’m not satisfied with our performance, it wasn’t quite that far from ideal.
“But on the Sunday, it was a good race, and Spa was good as well. It should be a bit more in the direction of Spa.
“So I hope we will be in the fight for the podium, but for the win, I don’t think we quite have that yet.”
Leclerc has revealed that the upgrades are tailored towards addressing the inherent limitations that have blighted Ferrari relative to its rivals since the season began.
However, the Monegasque has cautioned that the whole potential of the Maranello-based squad’s revised components might not be realised until the coming rounds.
“There were very specific characteristics of the car that we had during the last race, and this is where those upgrades should help us,” he said. “Then, we will see.
“I don’t think Monza is the best track to judge those upgrades. Probably Baku or Singapore would be a bit more of a test for us, but it should go in the right direction anyway.”
Nevertheless, Leclerc is expecting Ferrari to be more competitive on a low-downforce track compared to Zandvoort, where he was nine-tenths down over a single lap.
“I think we are in a better position than on a higher downforce track, so it should be a bit better,” he assessed. “How much better, it’s still to be seen.
“We will also have some upgrades on the car, which should work in the right direction.
“So, I hope we will put everything together. We are closer than where we were in the last race.”
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