Charles Leclerc says Ferrari has been successful in producing a Formula 1 car that is more driveable than its predecessor but admits that Red Bull remains the benchmark.
Following a challenging campaign last term, Ferrari has elected to overhaul its concept for 2024 as it seeks to address the limitations embedded within its previous car.
The Maranello-based squad has been vocal about ensuring its drivers have a more compliant and predictable car that is easier to drive compared to the capricious SF-23.
Both Leclerc and team-mate Carlos Sainz made regular complaints about how inconsistent Ferrari’s challenger was as it proved to be susceptible to wind direction.
Having now driven Ferrari’s latest iteration of ground effect car in pre-season testing, Leclerc is satisfied that the progress he saw on the simulator has translated to the track.
“It feels like every winter test… which means that we don’t understand a thing because for now, it is too early to say,” Leclerc told F1 TV.
“We have no idea what fuel levels everyone is running. In terms of drivability, the car is a lot better compared to last year.
“Last year after the test, it was hard to push into a direction because we didn’t know what the car was doing. We would get into a corner and have either extreme oversteer or extreme understeer, which was a big problem. This year, the car is not like that, which is a better starting point.”
He added: “I think the drivability is going to help us on the long runs. I think for tyre degradation and for race runs, we should be in a good place.”
Leclerc, though, suspects that Red Bull, who won all but one of the 22 races last season, are still the pacesetting team after an impressive start to winter running in Bahrain.
“However, my initial feeling is that Red Bull unfortunately remains quite a bit ahead, and yesterday they’ve done impressive lap times,” the Monegasque continued. “This is only my feeling not looking at lap times and data.”
Meanwhile, Ferrari Technical Director for Chassis Enrico Cardile has concurred with Leclerc’s view that the data on track correlates with what Ferrari had anticipated.
“We are proceeding as smoothly on our run plan, and the car is responding as expected,” he said. “So far regarding driver the feeling and sensation, it’s all well aligned to our expectations. So, in his respect we are happy.”
“It’s very difficult to know where you are in terms of the others based on the timing, but in terms of feedback from the drivers – it’s well aligned.
“We are happy that they didn’t find any bad surprises running the car on track. It is a good starting point.”
Regarding Ferrari’s expectations for 2024, Cardile believes the marque is on the right track to compete for victories despite admitting that Red Bull appears “quick”.
“Our ambition is obviously to be competitive for each race and fighting for wins, but we are working towards this,” he concluded.
