Charles Leclerc’s Formula 1 Championship Aim Takes a Major Hit With Latest Ferrari Delay

According to a recent development, Charles Leclerc’s Formula 1 championship prospect is expected to take an enormous hit. Citing Ferrari’s delay in bringing in the latest upgrades for their SF-23, the Monegasque wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight until Barcelona.

As per Soy Motor and Franco Nugnes, Scuderia Ferrari will not be able to come up with a fully loaded SF-23 until this year’s Spanish Grand Prix. This will hinder Leclerc’s chances to fight Max Verstappen for the championship and put him on the back foot.

🚨| Ferrari is working on SF-23 upgrades throughout Easter.

Ferrari will bring upgrades in 3 stages:
– diffuser in Baku
– rear suspension in Imola
– sidepods in Spain

By Spain (4th June) the SF-23 will look completely different, and will be aligned with the RB19 concept.

— Ferrari News 🐎 (@FanaticsFerrari) April 6, 2023

According to the sources, the improvements are set to be brought stage by stage. The Ferrari challengers will have new diffusers in Baku, new suspension in Imola, and some minor improvements in Miami.

However, there were talks about bringing the rear diffusers to Melbourne. Still, it was impossible as they were not ready and did not have enough modifications to have them in the SF-23 to bring out maximum performance.

2023 is the worst start to a season for Leclerc

After the DNF last week in Australia, Leclerc revealed that it was the worst start to his F1 season. The Australian GP DNF was his second retirement in three races.

The Monegasque is in P10 in the driver’s standings with just six points on board. He’s trailing the defending champion Verstappen by 63 points. Whereas at this stage, the Ferrari driver led the Red Bull maestro by 46 points.

A tough few days to digest, but we’re fighting back together.

Always with you ❤️ pic.twitter.com/snus81mJ5s

— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 4, 2023

Having said that, 2023 gave him the worst start, and he became emotional. With SF-23 not firing enough and Aston Martin and Mercedes shining, it will be a draconian task for him to be back again and be competitive.

Where does Leclerc stand in front of Verstappen in the championship?

The Monegasque is quite far away in terms of championship points when compared to the Dutchman. Verstappen leads the championship with 69 points, whereas Leclerc has six points to his name.

The Ferrari pilot had exactly the opposite start to his season this year as compared to 2022. At this point, the 25-year-old had two wins and a P2 under his belt, and the Red Bull driver had two DNFs in three races.

Surprisingly, Leclerc has two DNFs this year, whereas the Dutchman has two wins and a P2 with him. This brings us to the conclusion Charles Leclerc will be able to have a comeback like Max Verstappen last year.