Leclerc Questions Ferrari's Pace Beyond Monza Triumph This Season
Sep.10 - Ferrari is not confident it can now take on new Formula 1 pacesetter McLaren at every grand prix.
With Red Bull falling from F1 dominance during the course of 2024 so far, McLaren has emerged as the most consistent new force - although Mercedes and Ferrari have also won races.
It was Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, however, who impressed the F1 world and the 'tifosi' at Monza with his audacious one-stop strategy - with the win also thanks to a major car update.
Jock Clear, a senior Ferrari engineer, denied the Monza update was specifically for the team's home Italian GP.
"We do not align our development with specific races," he insists. "If Zandvoort had been on the Monza date, we would have brought it there instead."
The centrepiece of the latest upgrade, apart from a special low-downforce rear wing specifically for Monza, was a new floor - designed to rectify the Barcelona floor that re-triggered the 'porpoising' issue.
"If you're too aggressive, you'll pay for it," Clear told Auto Motor und Sport. "And we were too aggressive."
But while the Monza floor clearly worked, Clear is not so confident the car will be just as impressive at other circuits. "We cannot say with certainty that it will work everywhere," he admitted.
"We have to incorporate the data from Monza into our calculation models and trust our tools."
Team boss Frederic Vasseur is also cautious about predicting more Ferrari race wins. "It is difficult to determine what contribution the upgrade made to the victory in Monza," said the Frenchman.
"When six cars are within two tenths of each other, every detail can be important. The main factor in the race was certainly our good tyre management."
Leclerc, having also won at Monaco this year, is also cautious about being labelled the favourite for this weekend's Azerbaijan GP on the streets of Baku.
"Our package was working pretty well on a track like Monza," he said, "but whether it will be the same for the rest of the season, I doubt. So I don't know.
"I still think McLaren are the favourites but we have done a step forward, that's for sure, and Baku is a pretty nice track for me. So who knows. Maybe we can achieve something special there again."
The bad news for Ferrari is that the 'Monza special' rear wing is not suitable for Baku - and not every team designed a special wing for ultra-low downforce.
"I mean, we had really good top speed and that definitely helped on a track like Monaco," said Leclerc. "I honestly didn't check everybody else's rear wing to see if they also brought something special.
"Before Monza, I didn't see myself challenging for wins anywhere else. Maybe Singapore," he added. "On the other tracks, I still feel like we are a step behind McLaren and Red Bull."
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