Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc feels Mercedes and Red Bull are intentionally shifting expectations from themselves and pointing it on the Maranello team ahead of the start of the 2022 Formula 1 season next weekend.
Charles Leclerc is sure that Ferrari’s rivals are “pointing the finger” at the Italian side as they hope to shift pressure away from themselves and put Ferrari under more pressure.
In a recent interview at the Bahrain International Circuit, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton told the media that the Maranello team would be favourite for a one-two finish if the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix would take place this week.
He was not the only one to indicate Ferrari as the fastest car in 2022, as several drivers on the grid claimed that Charles Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz seem to have may well have the best car ahead of the 2022 Formula One championship.
However, Charles Leclerc has urged Ferrari fans to be “careful” as he played down talk of his team’s potential as compared to Mercedes and Red Bull.
“I think everyone is trying to point the finger at someone else, so they don’t have too much pressure, but I think everyone also knows that it means absolutely nothing so for now we’ll have to wait. Even though it’s a new project, I’m pretty sure that Red Bull and Mercedes, after doing so many strong seasons in the past years, will remain the teams to beat so we are working hard. It looks not bad for now.” – the Monegasque driver said.
Charles Leclerc continued: “But we need to keep working. I think Red Bull will have another upgrade coming before the race. We’ve seen the Mercedes arrive with a completely different car here. So yeah, we cannot relax. We need to be careful because, yes, the lap times are there but we don’t know what Mercedes are doing, we don’t know what Red Bull are doing, we don’t know what whoever is doing in this paddock,” he added.
“Mercedes and Red Bull, for sure, they have much more to come, so yeah, I wouldn’t get carried away by the lap times. They don’t mean anything for now.” – Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc insisted.
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