Charles Leclerc gives a bittersweet assessment of Ferrari compared to McLaren heading into the Belgian GP

Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari are four-tenths of a second slower than a McLaren on a track like Hungary. Speaking to media including Sportskeeda after the race, the Monegasque driver expected their upgrades to provide a better understanding of the car in Belgium.

In the qualifying in Hungary, Carlos Sainz's best lap of 1 minute 15.696 seconds was four-tenths of a second slower than both the fastest Red Bull and McLaren drivers. The Spaniard was the quickest of both Ferraris but finished sixth in the race. Charles Leclerc started sixth but finished fourth, with the aid of a decent strategy and good race pace.

Ferrari brought upgrades to the Hungarian GP to fix the bouncing issues on the car. After the Monaco race, they have struggled to perform at high-speed circuits and their upgrades were supposed to fix the issue. While Hungaroring is not a circuit that triggers the bouncing the Spa Francorchamps circuit is a circuit where the issue could return. Hoping for the Belgian circuit to be a better outlier of their progress, Charles Leclerc felt that the next race weekend would be a test for their performance and upgrades.

Asked by Sportskeeda where they were in terms of pace with the McLaren after their upgrades, Charles Leclerc replied:

“I think in the qualifying pace, especially with Carlos who had done a very good lap, I think thats the gap. So it might be specific to this track but yeah on a track like this we were four tenths behind and there was not much more in the car. On a track like Spa, I think its going to be a real test for us because its probably the track where I expect our issues to be the most visible. And then we’ll see if, we have the confirmation that theres still a lot of work to do before we get our issues fixed or whether the upgrades of this weekend helped us make progress for those tracks.”

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Charles Leclerc believes that Ferrari might not be the favorite at any track in 2024

Charles Leclerc feels that Ferrari will not be the favorite at any particular track for the rest of the 2024 season. The 25-year-old felt that the bouncing issues on their car were the main problem that needed a solution. Despite the confidence in the developmental curve and direction of the car, he was skeptical of its chances to claim victory at any circuit. He expected the issues to return at the Spa Francorchamps circuit and other high-speed circuits on the calendar.

Asked if there were any tracks on the calendar where Ferrari could challenge for wins, Charles Leclerc replied:

“Not really, I mean now if we stay like this with the car, I don’t think so. Monaco was a very specific track which we were very strong but that doesn’t mean we’ll be fast anywhere during the season. I don’t think that on paper we are favourites anywhere.”

Asked if there was an understanding of their car and if the development was in the right direction, he said:

“The understanding is there, it is going in the right direction for sure. The thing with the kind of issue we are facing is that it is either on or off, and its very difficult to see the improvement. Maybe we have it for a less time, what i’m speaking of is mostly the bouncing. But it’s not like you improve the intensity of it, so whenever you have it you have it. So we are doing steps in the right direction, whether it will be that we will not have it, Im not sure. I will expect that in Spa it will be an issue again.”

Asked if any particular track conditions suited them, Charles Leclerc said:

“I think all conditions are the same or us. Whenever we are going on a high speed track, I expect us to struggle a bit more.”

Charles Leclerc and Ferrari were running second in the drivers and constructors championship. However, after the British GP, they were eclipsed by Lando Norris and McLaren. The Monegasque driver trails the British driver by 27 points and Ferrari is six points behind McLaren. After the Monaco GP, the Scarlet team has failed to deliver consistent points results. In Canada, both their cars retired from the race and neither have been on the podium since the race in the principality.