Charles Leclerc says the upgrades Ferrari brings to Bahrain look to bridge the gap with McLaren, so they should take a more prominent step at Saudi Arabia’s Grand Prix this weekend.
Ferrari brought a new floor to Bahrain’s final race to gain value in two of the three races in the current triple header. Leclerc admitted it is unlikely to have a major impact on track layout last weekend, but believes Jeddah’s high-speed street circuits should allow teams to understand whether the latest developments have made progress.
“I think we need to move forward a bit because of the track layout, which is a bit more moving forward than we did in Bahrain, which is positive,” says Leclerc. “We obviously need to check that, but I think the numbers we were expecting from this upgrade in Bahrain are what we saw, and with that being so, I think we’ll benefit a little more from a track like this.
“The overall grip was a big improvement. And we need to get a little more on tracks like this, especially in the corner phase.”
Leclerc believes Ferrari is currently on the same level as Mercedes and thinks Red Bull is difficult to analyze, but he believes the gap with McLaren stands between 0.2 and 0.3 seconds. Ferrari is unlikely to close it with one upgrade, but he believes that race victory could soon appear on the cards after feeling that a better outcome has escaped in Bahrain.
“To be honest, I think the podium could have been in Bahrain without a safety car, but that’s how the race progresses from time to time,” he said. “I think we are taking a step in the right direction, whether on the podium this weekend or not, but I don’t know, but I think we have a chance.
“We have taken slightly different directions in the last few races, and I especially like it, and I hope that if we continue to go in that direction and find profits, we can win the first podium, but my hopes are more than that.
“I’m always completely motivated to extract the maximum from the car, no matter where it comes from. Of course, when you make everything perfect, you’re always disappointed.
“So that’s where I found my motivation. It’s about trying to perform as much as possible, so motivation doesn’t matter.”