Fourth in Monza, Turkey and Austin. Having removed the bitter outcome in the 2021 Russian Grand Prix at Sochi, when a strategic choice badly managed by him and the Maranello team turned a potential podium into a disaster, Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc in the last few races has always come within a whisker of the top 3. There has never been an opportunity to materialize the good performances into a podium finish, for various reasons, but the feeling is that now Ferrari has truly returned to being able to fight for the third place, behind Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, who are involved in their own battle for the two world titles. The goal of the Monegasque and of the entire Maranello team is to show it also in the world championship standings, where for the moment McLaren remains on the third step of the podium with just three and a half points ahead.
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Speaking at a press conference on the eve of the Mexican Grand Prix weekend, Charles Leclerc stressed that in theory the high-altitude race should favor the Maranello team’s SF21. Realism, however, also imposes the need to recognize that the first four positions should be unattainable because they are the prerogative of the Max Verstappen – Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton – Valtteri Bottas line-ups: “On paper it is a good track for us, but we are too far from Mercedes and Red Bull,” he clarified. As for the head-to-head with McLaren, the Monegasque driver – chasing Norris also in the drivers’ standings – appeared much more confident. “Our high downforce package has always worked well. We brought it here too. That’s why I think we will be competitive. We are still chasing McLaren [for P3]. We are not in front of them, so it’s going to be very, very tight because they are a very strong team, very consistent from the beginning of the year, so it’s not going to be easy. But as I said we are working well as a team since the beginning of the season – every time we brought things [upgrades] it went in the right direction – so it’s looking good ” concluded Charles Leclerc.
