Charles Leclerc believes that Ferrari could face a genuine challenge from Lando Norris and McLaren in the upcoming races. Leclerc secured his long-awaited first victory in Formula 1 in the recent race. McLaren showed impressive speed throughout the weekend, surpassing Ferrari. Therefore, Leclerc acknowledged that Ferrari could not underestimate Norris and his performances in the American race.
Norris claimed his first Formula 1 victory after a safety car period caused by a collision between Logan Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen. The entire grid celebrated the exceptional performance of the 24-year-old British driver. Norris managed to fend off the dominant Red Bull team, which faced several issues with their RB20 car. Leclerc, from Ferrari, stated that the Italian team outperformed Red Bull. Therefore, the American race weekend was considered positive.
Discussing Norris’s performance, Leclerc had only praise for the British driver. Leclerc acknowledged that Ferrari could not overlook Norris’s impressive performance in the Miami Grand Prix. He also highlighted Norris’s strong showing in the sprint qualifying session and in the Grand Prix itself.
Ferrari came very close to securing second place in the 2023 constructors’ championship due to inconsistent performances. However, the team started the 2024 season strongly compared to the previous year. This gives them a much better chance of securing second place this season. Leclerc believes that the team’s success in the 2024 season will depend on the updates introduced throughout the year. The initial updates will be crucial in determining the team’s performance for the rest of the season.
Therefore, Ferrari needs to work diligently on these updates and seek better results in the upcoming races. Leclerc hopes that the updates will meet the standards set by McLaren and Lando Norris. The improvements made to the challenging SF-24 should significantly increase the team’s performance.
Despite Red Bull’s dominant campaign, Ferrari has already secured a victory in the 2024 season. This indicates that the Italian team has a fair chance to compete for the championship. However, Ferrari not only needs to keep up with the updates to challenge Red Bull, but also to defend against McLaren. As a result, the end of the 2024 season promises to be highly exciting, with a fierce competition expected.
