Charles Leclerc has played down hopes of Ferrari interrupting Red Bull’s run of victories at the Mexican Grand Prix.
The Scuderia enter the weekend without a victory in eight attempts, despite taking five pole positions in that time.
Their comparative lack of race pace to Red Bull has been a key factor in their championship defeat in 2022.
The high-altitude Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez venue poses a unique aerodynamic challenge, with F1 cars running very aggressive wing angles in an attempt to generate more downforce from the thinner air.
In previous Mexican Grands Prix, this challenge has sometimes shaken up the running order, but Leclerc has played down Ferrari’s chances of interrupting Red Bull’s win streak.
“It’s difficult to know for now, [but] I still believe that Red Bull will be the team to beat on Sunday,” Leclerc told media, including RacingNews365.com.
“They always seem to find something from the Saturday to the Sunday that we haven’t quite found yet, but we are getting there.
“I don’t know whether this track will be better or worse. But anyway, I believe it will be close on Sunday.”
Leclerc: Main focus is on next year
Despite competing strongly against Red Bull in qualifying pace, Ferrari have been unable to maintain their performances over a race distance.
The Italian team’s season has been blighted with shortcomings, with the squad suffering from driver mistakes, tactical errors and poor reliability.
With Max Verstappen already taking the Drivers’ Championship, Leclerc is still competing with the second Red Bull driver, Sergio Perez, for P2 in the standings.
However, Leclerc reiterated that Ferrari’s main focus is to optimize their performances over the remainder of this season, in order to prepare for the next championship campaign.
“With Ferrari we are working to win the World Championship, but now we know that winning the World Championship is not possible anymore,” added Leclerc.
“We’ll try and use these last three races in order to be a better team for next year, to challenge for the World Championship again.
“Having said that, second is better than third, and we’ll obviously give everything to beat Checo [Perez].”
