Charles Leclerc makes no mistake of his ambitions with Ferrari, explaining in Spa that his objectives are unchanged despite a difficult year so far. The Italian squad will work to change the negativity and scepticism surrounding them across F1 news outlets.
The Monegasue secured a third podium of 2023 in Belgium, demonstrating some of the progress made at Maranello to address the SF-23’s weaker points.
Tyre degradation is still something of a limitation for the Scuderia, but it plays a far less significant role than at the start of this year’s campaign.
Fred Vasseur has spoken openly about the vulnerabilities of Ferrari’s 2023 challenger, understanding the importance of identifying the team’s current limitations in order to rectify them next season.
After all, next year’s project will be a continuation of the SF-23 – so issues that go unsolved could prove limiting factors once more.
This is especially true given the unique characteristics of this generation of F1 cars, with only Red Bull’s personnel finding the formula for consistent performance.
In an interview with corriere.it, Leclerc admitted that his podiums from this season do not compensate for last year’s struggles.
However, his ambitions for the future are unwavering:
“They are beautiful, but I didn’t enjoy them. The memory of 2022 is too fresh. We must not settle for second or third place.
“Ferrari deserves to win, and we must lead them to victory…
“The plans to reinforce the team will help us reach our goal.”
Such comments are to be expected from a driver of Leclerc’s calibre, with the 25-year-old having accumulated plenty of race wins and podiums already in his career.
World Championships are the criteria for success at Maranello, especially given the difficulty in reaching this achievement in recent seasons.
With a driver and team intent on winning F1 world titles, it will be intriguing to observe the Scuderia’s level of competitiveness over the next eighteen months.
Author: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
