"Doesn’t mean we need to change completely" - Charles Leclerc refutes suggestion of a different car concept for Ferrari

Charles Leclerc has refuted suggestions that Ferrari needs to go for a completely different car concept if it has to be competitive against Red Bull.

At the start of these new regulations, Ferrari and Red Bull went with different car concepts. Both teams were neck-to-neck at the start of the season in terms of pace. However, it was surprising to see the Italian squad losing significant ground as the season progressed.

This season as well, that ground has not been made up. Charles Leclerc, who started the 2022 F1 season with two wins in three races, does not have a single win to boast of in 2023. This has led to suggestions that Ferrari could be looking to change its design philosophy.

According to Charles Leclerc, that's not the need of the hour for Ferrari. As quoted by PlanetF1, the Ferrari driver said:

“For the car concept, we are looking into it. It is still too early to take conclusions out of it. It hasn’t worked the way we wanted, but that doesn’t mean we need to change completely from now. But we have some ideas on where we need to worn [to catch Red Bull].”

Leclerc, however, admitted that in the short term, it was hard to rein in Red Bull.

“There are a few things that we’ve realized that should look much better for the future, and that gives me confidence for the future," he said. "Now I understand a bit more why we are here now. I’m confident for the future, probably not for the short-term, because the gap to Red Bull is significant, but I am sure that we will come back."

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Red Bull made twice the step as compared to Ferrari - Charles Leclerc

Talking about the step that Ferrari made, Charles Leclerc revealed that the Italian team matched its pre-season expectations. Unfortunately, Red Bull made twice as big a jump, and that caught out Ferrari.

“Well, honestly, the car [is] doing exactly what we expected it to do, so it’s not like we did a bad job [or] we didn’t arrive to our expectations," he continued. "But unfortunately, Red Bull did twice [as much of] a step compared to us, so I think it’s more where we fixed the targets than anything else.”

Leclerc will be hoping that the new upgrade package from Ferrari works wonders as the current state of the team does not look as promising.