Charles Leclerc remains cautious as Ferrari face fresh challenges in Spain, with McLaren’s pace and heat set to test their limits.
Charles Leclerc is not expecting any miracles this weekend in Spain for Ferrari, despite an excellent Grand Prix result last week in Monaco. The Scuderia driver is aware that the layout in Barcelona will highlight the weaknesses of the SF-25 that went unexposed in the Principality.
“We need to adjust our expectations a little bit heading into this weekend compared to a weekend like Monaco, where things were a bit more positive,” Leclerc said. “However, that does not change our approach.”
Reality Check for Ferrari
“Rather than being an extreme setup, the balance we are aiming for is very, very aggressive this year, and we have to drive that way—it doesn’t change now. So, we’re still in the same situation.”
The Monegasque driver didn’t even expect such a bright result at home this year, unlike in previous seasons. “I was really surprised. In past years, we expected to be strong in Monaco.”
“We weren’t saying we would dominate the weekend, but we knew we would be strong. This year, I honestly thought we would be poor. I think it allowed us to better understand our car, and perhaps the strength of this car played a more important role in Monaco than we initially thought.”
“I’d be pleasantly surprised if that’s the case again this weekend, but I think we’ll return to normal—a situation we’ve struggled with since the start of the season, especially in qualifying. In the race, things might be slightly better.”
“We are also expecting very hot weather. We’ve seen that in high temperatures, McLaren tends to be very, very, very fast. So, everything points to us having a more typical weekend.”
Asked about the directive concerning flexible wings, Leclerc is not convinced it will be enough to beat McLaren. “I don’t want to think long term simply because I don’t have visibility. I know what will happen for us in terms of small tweaks and improvements to the car.”
Uncertainty, Hope, and Resolve
“I don’t know what’s going to happen for the other teams, so it’s very difficult to predict or expect anything. On paper, it will be tough to beat McLaren in a year like this when they’ve been so dominant in the first part of the season. It’s going to be very difficult, but I’ll give it everything I’ve got until the end.”
“I hope this weekend helps us take a step in the right direction and that, with new parts as soon as possible, we can move ahead in terms of on-track performance, which will help us aim higher. But we can’t afford to lose too many races, and starting this weekend, I hope we’ll be closer to the guys in front.”
Amid the ongoing debate about the lack of spectacle in Monaco—discussed in depth on the ‘Grand Prix’ show—Leclerc isn’t sure there’s a miracle solution, nor that anything necessarily needs to change. “I don’t think we’ll ever turn my home race into one with lots of overtakes.”
“That said, I’ve seen a few proposals that could be smart—maybe something could be done at the hairpin and Rascasse, because I don’t think that would make things worse.”
“I’m less convinced by the idea of moving the Nouvelle Chicane. That said, for me, this Grand Prix is something special, and even if we continue like this, with Sunday’s result decided on Saturday afternoon, I’ll still love it.”
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