Charles Leclerc remains cautious about Ferrari’s championship prospects despite securing two podiums in the opening rounds, acknowledging that Mercedes continues to hold a significant pace advantage heading into the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. The Monegasque driver provided a realistic assessment of his team’s position, emphasizing that while Ferrari’s early-season performance shows promise, closing the gap to the Silver Arrows will require substantial development progress.
“Well, I think, as everyone is saying, this championship is going to be all about development and the upgrades that each team is going to bring,” Leclerc explained. “For now, we are in an okay-ish place, but of course we’re not here to only do podiums and we want to win races, which at the moment seems very difficult because Mercedes is at a very high level.” The Ferrari driver stressed that his team’s factory personnel are working tirelessly to deliver upgrades, though he cautioned that rival teams are equally focused on development.
Despite the apparent closeness of racing in the early rounds, Leclerc believes the true performance differential remains substantial. He suggested that Ferrari’s best opportunity to challenge Mercedes comes during race starts and opening laps, before clean air allows their competitors to demonstrate their superior pace. “I don’t think it’s as close as maybe people think,” Leclerc noted, pointing to the four to five tenths advantage Mercedes has consistently shown.
Regarding the FIA’s decision to reduce maximum permitted energy recharge for qualifying this weekend, Leclerc expressed skepticism about its potential to alter the competitive landscape. “I don’t think it will be a game changer. I think it will be pretty similar, apart from for the driver where maybe there’s a little bit less lift and coast, which is I think a good thing,” he stated. The Ferrari driver believes qualifying procedures under current regulations still require further refinement to allow drivers to extract maximum performance from their cars consistently.