Charles Leclerc has acknowledged the positive impact the sport’s current competitiveness and uncertainty is having on Formula 1, but has stressed Ferrari’s “huge determination” to get back to winning form in the second half of the 2024 season.
The Scuderia’s performances have been inconsistent this year, with wins in Australia and Monaco making them Red Bull’s closest rivals, but they were fourth-best on the grid heading into the F1 summer break.
Overall, the Italian team has been slower than its rivals in qualifying and racing this summer, largely due to a development program that has not lived up to expectations.
As a result, Ferrari fell down the rankings, while McLaren and Mercedes filled their spots and competed successfully against Red Bull.
Despite this, the gap between the leaders remains narrow, evolving race day into a thrilling showdown where fate can change in a split second.
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Leclerc loves the excitement of unpredictability, but he harbors a selfish, secret desire.
“On the one hand, I think F1 is good,” he told the press at Spa last time.
“My biggest wish was for Ferrari to dominate completely and in that sense it’s going to be a very boring season. But that hasn’t happened and we still have a lot of work to do.
“Obviously in the last few races we don’t have the momentum to fight for the win at the moment, so we just have to focus on ourselves.
“But it’s true that it’s good and interesting to see other winners in F1 and other teams developing their cars in a really good way. So it’s very interesting.”
Ferrari currently sit third in the F1 constructors’ championship, 63 points behind leaders Red Bull but 89 points ahead of fourth-placed Mercedes.
Leclerc’s podium finish in Belgium was a rare highlight in recent racing, but Monaco says Ferrari and its team are determined to turn the tide later in the season.
“We’ve had tough moments with the team and we’ve had better moments with the team,” the 26-year-old explained.
“Right now, if you look back at the last four or five races, it’s a moment where we’re having a harder time.
“I think Hungary, apart from Hungary, is a very good place where we have reached our full potential. And of course, we know that we have to improve our potential, because as of now, it is not enough.
“But we are focused on it and it doesn’t discourage us. Rather, it motivates us even more to get back to a good level of performance and see ourselves winning trophies again.
“The team is very motivated and we hope the tough moments will be as short as possible.”
