Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc says the Maranello team have made “quite a good step” with their 2021 car but at the same time he admits it is too early to say how well they can perform.
The Italian side had their worst season for 40 years in 2020, but the team have worked hard on fixing their main weakness, which was speed on the straights.
Charles explained: “There has been a lot of work. We have been pushing quite a lot. It always looks positive on paper but then we need to see what the others have done as a step.”
The 23-year-old was speaking at the official launch of the Ferrari team before the new season, alongside new team-mate Carlos Sainz and team principal Mattia Binotto. Charles is ensconced as Ferrari team leader after two highly impressive seasons in 2019 and 2020, in which he out-performed his former team-mate, the four-time champion Sebastian Vettel.
The Monegasque said he had fully recovered from catching coronavirus in Dubai over the winter and had been working hard on improving his performances further this season.
“Covid did not hit me that bad,” Charles said. “I did some physical tests to make sure everything came back to normal and that is the case. I have never been in [the] Ferrari [factory as much] as before this season. We have been doing quite a bit of tests with the old car. I feel very ready. I have been working in a similar way as in the past, trying to understand what were my weaknesses last year. I still believe tyre management is something I should push. I improved a lot last year and I hope there will be another step this year.”
Charles said he was expecting a respectful relationship with Carlos Sainz, who joins Ferrari after two seasons at McLaren.
“It is very clear we need to push for the team,” Leclerc said. “Carlos wants to beat me and I want to beat him too. We will try to be careful when we fight each other on track. What is most important is we separate what happens on the track and off the track. It is a fine line that every team-mate needs to find. Carlos is very competitive but he is also here for the benefit of the team, as I am, and we will have to play it smart on that one.”
Carlos Sainz said he expected to find it “difficult” to beat Charles in his first season at Ferrari as he finds his feet.
But he added: “In five years, my target is to be world champion. I believe Ferrari is the right place to achieve that. We just need a bit of time to make it happen.”
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