Charles Leclerc expressed confidence in the possibility of resolving the more fundamental problems of the SF23, which prevented Ferrari from being competitive as expected, promising a significant improvement with the 2024 car. The Maranello team has already begun a slow but steady comeback since the summer break, securing a podium and a victory between Monza and Singapore, but it is still not enough to catch up with Red Bull.
Charles Leclerc’s Confidence for 2024: The Next Ferrari Takes Shape
“On one hand, you always have to look at yourself. I believe that in the second half of the season, starting from Zandvoort, we’ve learned a lot,” said an optimistic Charles Leclerc. “We are happy about this. Then, of course, we also know that Red Bull is still far ahead. McLaren also has its peak, and when it has its peak, it’s extremely strong, as it was in Suzuka.”
“All in all, we are more satisfied with what we have learned than depressed about the gap from Red Bull. This is because, with what we’ve learned, we can take a significant step in the future, which we hope will help us close the gap to Red Bull as soon as possible.”
Charles Leclerc is now looking ahead to the next Formula 1 season with optimism after a forgettable first part of 2023. Until just before the summer break, the SF23 proved to be the fourth-best car on the grid, with the exception of Baku. Things have changed from Zandvoort onwards, with the Prancing Horse now chasing Mercedes in the battle for second place in the constructors’ championship.
As for the last six races of 2023, the Monegasque driver admitted that he still struggles to adapt to the driving style that the SF23 requires to achieve its full potential: “The car’s problems are still present. I believe that to eliminate them, a completely new car is needed. This is the goal for next year.”
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“I’ve been working quite a bit with this year’s car because, at the moment, it’s not that it can’t be oversteery. We can set it up like any other car, but when it’s oversteery, it’s extremely inconsistent. So, we have to drive it understeer, and that makes it quite challenging for me to use my driving style to get the lap time. I’ve tried to improve and understand the ways to use my driving style differently. It worked a bit more in Japan, but I wouldn’t say it will make a big difference for the rest of the year,” concludes the Ferrari driver, ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix weekend.
Source: f1ingenerale
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