Charles Leclerc explains why he “is optimistic” despite admitting “Verstappen is still far ahead”. Charles Leclerc acknowledges that Max Verstappen is still too far ahead.

Charles Leclerc is pleased with how Ferrari has started the 2024 F1 season. He acknowledges that Max is still too far ahead, but the SF-24 has proven to be good, allowing the team to focus on updates.

Charles Leclerc hopes for a smooth weekend without surprises in Saudi Arabia. Analysis of the issue that affected his Bahrain Grand Prix is still ongoing between Ferrari and Brembo technicians. “I am optimistic; the first race of the year didn’t allow me to understand our potential,” explained Charles. “I really look forward to starting this weekend. I hope to be closer to Max Verstappen, but I prefer to wait for a few more races before judging our strengths and weaknesses; it’s too early to say today.”

Regarding the brake problems last Saturday, Charles Leclerc continued, “Immediately after the race, our attention turned to analyzing what happened, and I hope it can be resolved. To be clear, it was a problem we had never encountered before and proved to be very costly in terms of time, especially in the first half of the race, where managing the car was extremely difficult.”

In the Jeddah paddock, there are still discussions about Max Verstappen’s significant victory in Bahrain. Some fear a repeat of 2023, while others believe something in the overall script of the season will be different from twelve months ago. “Now we are not able to worry Max,” clarified Charles Leclerc. “But I believe we are in a much better situation than last year. I remember well that twelve months ago, after the first race, we were busy solving problems rather than focusing on the updates needed to optimize the car. Considering that this year, the car is in a much better position, I would say we can focus on future updates. However, to be clear, Max is still too far away today.”

But there is no sign of disappointment on Leclerc’s side; his focus is on the medium and long term, without frustration. “To be honest, I am only focusing on our performance. We have many things to address within the team; future development is very clear. We are all focusing on our car, and I can say the team is in a positive moment; the good momentum we had from the second half of last season is continuing. Again, now we are excited to get back on track to gather more data that will help us define updates as quickly as possible and, hopefully, put as much pressure on Max as possible.”

The challenge with the Jeddah circuit, one of the most demanding and stressful for drivers, will begin tomorrow. “The approach must be cautious,” confirmed Charles. “As in all city circuits, exceeding the limit, even slightly, means having a great chance of hitting a wall, and that is precisely what needs to be avoided on a track like this. There will be significant evolution, and if we do a good job, we can all get into Q3 when needed.”

Charles Leclerc finally criticized the proposal to change the sporting regulations, increasing the penalty from 5 to 10 seconds in the case of multiple track limit violations. “It seems like an excessive penalty; the goal should be to find a way to help us manage the car in certain situations where we struggle to see the white line. I think 5 seconds were already too many; 10 are definitely too much.”