Charles Leclerc urges Ferrari to not just fight for podiums this F1 season

Ahead of the 2024 Formula 1 season, Charles Leclerc has urged Scuderia Ferrari not to limit their fight to podiums and to focus on sealing as many wins as possible.

During the preseason testing in Bahrain, SF23 joined the likes of the dominant RB19, posing itself as the Milton-Keynes-based Red Bull's fiercest rival in the pursuit of a championship.

However, the promising testing results didn't convert into race wins, with the only triumph coming at the Singapore GP, won by Carlos Sainz. Additionally, the Prancing Horses secured nine podium finishes in the 2023 season, taking the P3 spot in the constructor's championship with 406 points in the bag.

It's been over a decade since the Italian team secured a championship. Ferrari's last driver's title came in 2007 through Kimi Raikkonen, and their last constructor's championship was won in 2008.

With the 2024 season set to kick off, Charles Leclerc emphasized that it's insufficient to just fight for podiums, saying (via PlanetF1):

“No, it’s not enough. I mean, I want to win as many races as possible, then we’ll do the counter at the end of the year, and to also understand where we will be after the first race to understand how competitive we are."

The five-time Grand Prix winner emphasized not drawing conclusions too soon and unraveled his thirst to dominate the 2024 season. The Monegasque said:

“But yeah, it’s very difficult now to also draw a picture of where we will stand after the first race, it will depend on that as well. But two or three victories is not my target, I want to win as many races as possible.”

---

Charles Leclerc's teammate Carlos Sainz extends his support for the former's championship fight

Shortly after Charles Leclerc signed a multi-year deal with the team in red, Lewis Hamilton's move to the team was announced. It meant that Sainz's partnership with Ferrari would end at the end of the current season.

The two-time Grand Prix winner recently said that he has 'always been exemplary' as a team player for any team that he has been a part of (via Motor Sport Week):

“Of course. I’ve always been a team player, I’ll always be, every team that I’ve gone into in Formula 1, I’ve been I think a great team player. I’ve always been exemplary in that sense as a driver for any team."

Going further, Sainz said that he would assist Leclerc in the latter's quest for a championship because he would expect the Monegasque to do the same for him. The 29-year-old added:

"I will definitely help Charles if I have to, in the same way I expect Charles to help me if I fight for a World Championship myself too.”