“We are not happy about it”: Charles Leclerc opens up on internal frustrations at Ferrari with disappointing run of results 

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has acknowledged that the team is in a difficult situation adding that there is a sense of unhappiness at their current standing. The Italian team started the 2024 season on a strong note as they were arguably the second-fastest team behind Red Bull and even took wins off them in Australia and Monaco.

However, the Prancing Horses slowly slipped back after Barcelona. The upgrades brought to the Spanish GP did not yield the level of performance the team had expected, pushing them down the grid, behind rivals McLaren and Mercedes. This is the first time since team boss Frederic Vasseur joined the team in 2023 that the team has looked to be in a tricky situation.

Speaking during an interview with RTBF, Leclerc spoke about his relationship with Vasseur and their common goal for the Maranello-based outfit. The Monagasque said (via Formula Passion):

"With Fred, it's nice because you don't need many words to understand each other. We've known each other for a long time and we are very direct, we don't waste time. I think it's positive, we work very well together. We find ourselves in a difficult situation for the team and we are not happy about it. But we are doing everything we can to try to get back in front."

Ferrari team principal Vassuer had a more positive outlook on the situation than his driver and told F1.com that they were in a better situation than at the same point in 2023:

“First, overall, it’s a much better start than 12 months ago. It was a bit up and down. We had a good sequence and a bit more difficult sequence, but the most important [thing] is to score the points that you can score.”

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Charles Leclerc gives an honest assessment of the SF-24

After his P3 finish at the Belgian GP before the summer break, Charles Leclerc accepted that the Italian team was the fourth-fastest on track at the moment and would look to improve on its performance after the mid-season break.

He told F1.com:

“I feel like we are the fourth-fastest car at the moment. I mean, the first part of the year for us was, for the first half, pretty positive; the second half struggling a bit more, trying to fix the issues.

"We are just going to try and recharge our batteries during the break, come back, try and analyze and hopefully bring new parts as soon as possible on the car to be challenging for wins again.” he added.

Leclerc currently sits in P3 in the drivers' championship standings behind Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, with 177 points in 14 races and three sprints thus far.

Ferrari has slipped to P3 on 345 points from their previous P2 position after McLaren overtook them in Hungary, and is currently 21 points behind the Woking-based team.