Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari can focus on improving its 2024 Formula 1 car having managed to avoid enduring the wind sensitivity issues that plagued it last season.
Ferrari encountered severe troubles at the beginning of the previous season with an evolution of its 2022 car that transpired to be susceptible to changes in wind direction.
Both Leclerc and team-mate Carlos Sainz were vocal about their discontent with the inconsistency delivered by Ferrari’s package on a weekend, particularly in race conditions.
The Italian marque opted to commit to a “complete revamp” in its bid to assemble a more compliant car and Leclerc has issued an encouraging assessment on its progress.
“It’s still very difficult to understand exactly where we are but we have gone through our programme,” he told media including Motorsport Week. “We didn’t have any major issues.
“I think the first good thing is that there are no surprises. Everything that we expected from this car we got it on the real track so that is a good thing because that helps us to develop the car on the simulator and everything seems to make sense.
“Then how competitive we are it’s very difficult to understand for now.
“For now, my feeling is that Red Bull is still quite a bit ahead but we have a much stronger base compared to last year.
“I remember last year I finished the test and it was very, very difficult to understand in which direction to develop because the car was just so inconsistent; it was very difficult to understand what were the main weaknesses.
“This year it’s a very different story. We know exactly where we need to improve where the main weaknesses of this car, and this gives us a bit more hope for the development of the car.”
Asked whether the mood was more positive in the team this time around, Leclerc replied: “I mean let’s wait and see next Friday and then I’ll tell you if it’s positive or not.
“Last year was probably the worst ever test I’ve had in my entire career. This year it’s much better.”
While Leclerc was aware Ferrari was in for a tough campaign from the outset 12 months ago, the Monegasque is more upbeat heading into the upcoming record calendar.
Having driven the SF-24 in both Fiorano and Bahrain, Leclerc is convinced the Maranello-based squad will not be exposed or vulnerable to blustery conditions this term.
“On our side it’s quite a lot better,” Leclerc said regarding Ferrari’s car in the wind. “I mean last year’s car I think one of the main weaknesses was the wind sensitivity.
“Whenever the wind will change a tiny bit our car will be extremely difficult to drive huge differences in terms of balance from one corner to the other and this year we are in a much better place for that.
“So that is definitely a step forward on that. It was wanted. We worked a lot on it and we had the confirmation already from the first day, so that was good.”
Ferrari’s attempts to understand its problems from testing last season and the subsequent concept switch to the downwash solution meant it introduced minimal upgrades over the course of the year compared to its rivals.
But asked by Motorsport Week if Ferrari’s stronger platform for 2024 meant he could expect a steeper development curve, Leclerc admits it was too premature to anticipate.
“As I said earlier, the directions are clearer earlier in the season,” he responded.
“However, if then we will manage to find bigger gains from it following the clearer directions, I don’t know, it’s too early to say and very difficult to predict.”
However, the five-time grand prix winner is confident that Ferrari’s more consistent base will ensure it can become a more credible threat over race distances this season.
Leclerc managed to register five pole positions in 2023, but Ferrari’s issues with tyre degradation meant that he failed to convert any of those promising openings.
“I am confident that we definitely did a step forward in terms of tyre management because whenever tyres are more used, the weaknesses of the car are more apparent, you can feel them more and with the characteristics of this car it should be quite a bit better,” Leclerc explained.
