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Charles Leclerc won the first race of the season in Bahrain last week by fending off challenges from Max Verstappen for the entire race. Ever since, the Ferrari power unit has been the talk of the town, with suggestions floating that it might just be the class of the field right now.
The Monegasque driver was questioned during Friday's drivers' press conference on his views on the progress made by the Ferrari engine. Leclerc acknowledged that there was certainly progress which was visible with the improvement in his team's competitiveness this season, saying:
“First of all, I can feel the difference on the car of the progress from last year to this year. And this is nice, it’s the result of all the work back in Maranello, and it’s also a reason why we’re more competitive this year so it’s great to see that!”
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Concurrently, the Ferrari driver cautioned against reading too much into it as he pointed out that Red Bull was still very strong. Leclerc said:
“On the other hand, I don’t think we have any advantage, I think we are very similar to where Red Bull is at the moment, they also seem to be very strong power unit wise and we need to keep pushing, but yes it’s definitely a big step from last year.”
Fernando Alonso was also questioned on the progress made by the new Renault Power unit. Demonstrating his positive views on where Renault stood as compared to the other manufacturers on the grid, the Spaniard said:
“On our side as well, not only in terms of power. but also in terms of concept it is entirely different. There was a lot of work done on this project for already one and a half years so I think they did a very good job and with our power unit now, we are at a very similar level as others and I don’t think we are at a disadvantage or a huge advantage which was maybe the case last year so we’re happy with that.”
Spotlight on Charles Leclerc in second race of season
Charles Leclerc laid down the gauntlet in the first race of the season by picking up maximum points. In the second race of the season, all eyes and pressure will be on the young driver as he takes over the role of the championship leader for the first time in his career.
