Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen engaged in some very exciting battles at the start of the 2022 season. However, a string of misfortunes forced the former to hand the pivotal moment in the championship to Max Verstappen, who exhibited his dominant side on the track and didn’t let it go this year either. Ferrari, who was expected to perform at a high level this year, failed terribly for a number of reasons, tire deterioration being a major one. Leclerc, though, is aiming to reclaim the top spot in 2024 as the team enters its resurgent period.
The Monegasque, this year appeared out of shape and it felt that the SF23 didn’t suit his driving style, while Carlos Sainz put on the best performance of his career in Singapore two years ago. The Spaniard won the race at the Marina Bay Circuit, ending Ferrari’s winless streak and breaking Red Bull’s dominant streak in the process. The Spaniard surpassed Leclerc in the rankings, who is 15 points behind Sainz, as a result of his mediocre performances.
Leclerc in particular, opened the season with a DNF in Bahrain, a P7 in Jeddah, and then a second DNF in Australia. In addition, the 25-year-old crashed frequently during the season at events like Miami and later the Dutch GP. However, currently, the squad appears upbeat about their performance, and the Ferrari driver anticipates that the 2024 car will make him feel good.
Charles Leclerc has high hopes for 2024
The secret to Ferrari’s resurgence has been its latest upgrades, which the Monegasque believes will really take off in 2024. According to Motorsportweek.com, the 25-year-old said, “ First of all the 2024 project is very different to the car we have this year. And with everything we’ve learnt so far it reaffirms that it’s a good choice what we’ve gone for next year.”
Later, Leclerc recalled briefly, the Monza experience, noting that it showed a huge sign of improvement. He said, “We learnt plenty during Monza, especially about our weaknesses. After Monza, we understood more things which are good for this year.”
While discussing learning from mistakes, Leclerc mentioned the new engine that was used in the Italian GP.
Due to the SF23’s poor and unpredictable handling characteristics, which contributed to Leclerc’s terrible performance at the Dutch GP, Ferrari made a modification. The change resulted in a sudden boost in performance as both of the Scuderia drivers finished in the top 5 at the Italian GP. This shift has also improved the atmosphere in the Maranello camp and they are currently yielding excellent results. As a result, Leclerc now feels upbeat about the Scuderia’s performance in the upcoming season.
Ferrari is up with a different philosophy
Although discussions involving triumphs with the Scuderia have been extremely rare, Ferrari has been talked up quite frequently in recent times. Considering the 2023 season has continued to be more of an off-season the squad now plans to take a completely new approach. The crew did an excellent job and took notes from the Mercedes’ failed attempt at a zero-side pod design.
In light of this team boss Frederic Vasseur stated on Motorsport Week.com that the team will develop a concept that is distinct from this year’s car. He said, ” For sure this will help for the future–it’s a better understanding of the car, better understanding of the set-up of the car. I would say mainly it is a step forward in terms of confidence for everybody and this is the best way to prepare for the future.”
Later Vasseur added while hinting a fresh approach, “I think we have to stay calm. We know that when we had a tough [run of results] to not draw conclusions that everything is going badly and that we have to change everything and it’s not that after two weekends that we are world champion.”
With Ferrari’s recent comeback, it will be interesting to see if the team can meet its objectives by the start of next year and challenge Red Bull yet again.
