It was a heated Media Day in Singapore, with the highly discussed topic of McLaren’s flexible wings, which gained attention after the Baku weekend, dominating Thursday’s press conferences. Charles Leclerc didn’t hold back when discussing Ferrari’s updates, taking a jab at their “papaya” rivals.
Fresh off the Baku race weekend, where McLaren overtook Red Bull in the championship standings, Charles Leclerc approaches the night race at Marina Bay with some optimism. The Monegasque driver, first in Monza and then second with a lot of regrets in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, discussed the updates Ferrari’s SF-24 will showcase this weekend at the 4.94-kilometre Marina Bay Street Circuit, not missing the chance to throw a little shade at Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s team.
The recent progress is a result of hard work and caution. At Ferrari, the focus is on taking things one race at a time, adopting the “focus only on ourselves” mantra that Frederic Vasseur has been repeating for several weekends now. That’s why Charles Leclerc dismisses any lofty ambitions: “We’re not talking about the constructors’ championship at all,” he explains, analyzing the tight standings. “Since the end of the summer break, we’ve been maximizing the car’s potential quite well, and we need to keep that up.”
“The championship is still long,” he continues, “we can’t relax or waste time thinking about what might happen,” says the determined Ferrari driver.
Step by step, Ferrari is continuing to improve, making changes to the car at the right time. “Here in Singapore, we’ve brought a small update that I hope will help us in the remaining races of the season,” explains Charles Leclerc, who then can’t resist taking a shot at McLaren, currently under scrutiny for their much-discussed flexible rear wing: “It’s not a mini DRS, but we’ve brought a new front wing.” – the Monegasque driver added.
“I don’t know if it’ll be enough to win, but historically, we’ve been very strong on this track. I hope it’s the same this year,” continues an optimistic Charles Leclerc during Thursday’s media day.
Despite his cautious approach, Leclerc believes Ferrari still has a chance in the 2024 Formula 1 constructors’ championship: “I think there are still opportunities (for the constructors’ championship). This season, we’ve almost always managed to maximize results, which is why we’re still in the fight despite a few underwhelming races. However, we need to take it race by race. While we expect to be competitive in Singapore, we also need to evaluate the real impact of the Monza updates in Austin,” Charles Leclerc concluded ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend.
Source: f1ingenerale
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