The Tifosi may be absent this weekend, but when the team’s fans are watching on their TVs at home, they have reason to be optimistic after a painful 2020 season.
At Sakhir, Charles Leclerc drove an excellent lap to qualify in fourth, a result few expected before practice. He could not maintain this form in the race and lost to Lando Norris and Sergio Perez on the way to sixth place.
Still, it was a good starting point for this year’s campaign for the Monegasque driver and his team, and it is obvious that they are at least in the battle for the third best team – a form Ferrari has repeated so far in practice on Friday at Imola, despite Leclerc’s late FP2 crash (below).
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF21, gets out of his car after getting out of the car
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
The SF21 package is much better than its predecessor – but as Leclerc readily admits, it’s not yet good enough.
“It’s a step forward, a significant step forward, as we saw in Bahrain,” he said. “We have developed better compared to the other teams from last year to this year. So that’s positive.”
“But on the other hand, we are still not fighting where we want to fight. So we are making every effort to get back where we want, namely to fight for victories.”
“But if you compare last year with this year, we did a good job and we have to keep working like this.”
The aggregate was obviously a big issue in the face of the FIA clampdown last year, but Leclerc says wins aren’t all about grunts.
“It’s an overall improvement,” he said. “The power feels better, the balance in the corners and the car’s actual grip feel better. So overall, it’s not just one thing. It’s just the whole package that feels better. And that’s positive for the future.” “”
Leclerc admits the team has some racing gear work to do. Indeed, his performance in Bahrain on Saturday may have flattered the car.
“I was very happy with my lap in qualifying,” he said. “I think I put everything together that wasn’t the case before the weekend. I had problems. But when I had to drive this lap in qualifying, I was very happy with it. I think it was a very good lap.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF21
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“Then we fought a little more on Sunday. We learned from it. And there are probably a few things that we could have done a little better, that I could have done better in the car. And we will learn.” from there.
“The fact is, however, that we were a little slower on Sunday than on Saturday. We are working on it and trying to improve this point. But there is no particular thing that has slowed us down.” On Sunday.”
Leclerc has accepted that Ferrari won’t fight the top two teams for merit wins this year. This is hardly surprising given the step that had to be taken with a car that was frozen in many key areas over the winter. He sees third place as the goal.
He said: “I think a realistic goal for this year will be to be right behind Red Bull and Mercedes. Realistically, it will be very difficult to fight with them. We are too far behind for now.”
“But we’re fighting for third place in the constructors with four or five other teams. So it’s going to be a close battle. But if we do everything perfectly, I think it’s achievable.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF21
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Like all the other teams, Ferrari will have to make some tough decisions this year as resources move to the 2022 project. It will certainly be tempting to put more effort into this year’s program as the battle for third place becomes so close.
However, Leclerc is confident that its engineers will make the right calls. There’s a bigger picture to consider.
“I think the mentality is right, I have no doubts,” he said. “And I think we are working well. The beginning of 2020 was difficult just realizing the reality of things and understanding that we were really a step back compared to 2019.
“But we went through this process in a good way I think and then we started to rebuild the whole project a bit and I think the mentality is right like I said. I don’t think we are get it.” Carried away by the fight that is going on, or the fight that will be there during the season, for third place in the constructors.
“I think everyone knows that there is a lot more to be won to prepare [for] 2022 in the right way, because these new cars will last much longer, many years after 2022. So we have to be prepared for that. And I think we are preparing, as we should, for this transition. So I’m not worried about that. “
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF90 leads at the start
Photo by: Alessio Morgese / Luca Rossini
Thanks to his long contract, Leclerc knows that he will be with Ferrari for the long term. Another year with no wins after his brilliant first season with the Maranello team in 2019 is going to be painful, but at least he knows he will benefit in 2022 and beyond if the team can turn it around.
He recently received a memento of the good times in the form of his SF90 chassis, which his team had given as a gift under the long-term contract he had agreed in 2019.
“Obviously after my first year at Ferrari I signed a new contract that was much longer and one of my wishes was this and Ferrari was kind enough to accept it,” he added. “And I am very happy because it is obviously a memory that I will keep forever. It is exactly the chassis that Monza and Spa won, my two victories in F1.
“And so it’s a very special car for me. And thank you for accepting this. It will be in the Prince of Monaco’s collection so it’s in good hands. I didn’t have enough space in my living room in mine Apartment! So I have to upgrade this to have a little more space for the car … “
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