Ferrari‘s Charles Leclerc believes the performance Red Bull shows next time out at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix will reveal how much of a title threat they are.
Red Bull is on a downward ebb in 2024, without a victory in eight GPs, relinquishing control of the Constructors’ Championship to McLaren.
As Red Bull has sought answers to its performance-limiting balance issues, Ferrari has had a resurgence since the Summer break.
Leclerc scored a podium at Zandvoort, won at Monza, came second in Baku and were it not for a poor qualifying, could well have extended his podium run in the Singapore GP.
Instead, Max Verstappen picked up the best of the rest accolade at the Marina Bay Circuit, finishing between the two McLarens.
Leclerc hinted that the next round in Austin, Texas will prove whether Red Bull’s performance in Singapore was a flash in the pan or a sign of a team ready to fight for both F1 titles across the six remaining races.
“[It] depends on their next race,” Leclerc told the media after the Singapore GP.
“They’ve been a bit up and down in the last few races, but it’s also true that the last few races have been a bit more specific in terms of car characteristics.”
Red Bull has a total of 475 points in the Constructors’ standings, 34 ahead of Ferrari and 41 behind McLaren.
In the Drivers’ standings, Verstappen remains on top with six rounds remaining, with 331 points to Lando Norris’ 279.
Leclerc is a further 34 points back in third and said “I’ve never ruled [Red Bull] out, and I’m sure they will be strong until the end of the season.”
Charles Leclerc and Ferrari ‘didn’t expect’ to remain in title hunt with McLaren and Red Bull
Ferrari and Leclerc’s outside title bid was bolstered by its improved form in recent races, given the team went astray in the summer months.
An il-fated upgrade package introduced at June’s Spanish GP triggered bouncing on the Ferrari SF24 and the Scuderia wasted several races fixing the issue.
This is why Leclerc said “two, three races ago, [Ferrari] definitely did not expect” being as close as it is in the Championship fight.
“At the beginning of the season, I think we all thought, after the first two, three races, that Red Bull will walk away with the title as easily as last year,” Leclerc said.
“Then McLaren came and managed to do a big step forward and we’ve kind of maximised most of our season, apart from three races after Canada where we struggled a lot as a team and we were trying to find our way again.
“But other than that, even though we didn’t have ever, I think the fastest car, we were always maximising our results, and that helped us to not lose too many points against our competitors.
“So we just need to keep doing what we do, and hopefully at the end of the year, consistency will pay off.”
READ MORE: Charles Leclerc assesses Ferrari’s 2025 F1 title credentials
