Under Present Circumstances, Charles Leclerc Claims Ferrari Are No “Favorites Anywhere”

At the start of the 2024 season, Ferrari was seemingly the second-fastest team on the grid, finishing just behind the then-dominant Red Bull cars. However, after the Hungarian GP, Charles Leclerc assessed the Maranello-based team’s situation and deemed they were nowhere close to the top.

McLaren and Mercedes developed their car much better than Ferrari did, which helped the former two close the gap to the Red Bull. Over the last few races, they even overtook the Milton-Keynes-based team in terms of performance.

Leclerc seemed pessimistic when asked if there were circuits where Ferrari could be the favorites. He said, “Not really. I mean, now if we stay like this with our car, I don’t think so.” 

Leclerc recalled Ferrari’s last win, the Monaco GP, where he finally ended his curse to stand on the top step of the podium. He acknowledged that they were fast on the streets of the principality, but added that there won’t be a repeat of that weekend. “I don’t think that on paper we are favorites anywhere.”

At the Hungarian GP last weekend, Ferrari was fourth-fastest behind the McLaren, Mercedes, and Red Bull cars. Still, Leclerc finished P4 and Carlos Sainz P6. As the Belgian GP weekend approaches, Leclerc doesn’t see much improvement coming.

Leclerc’s prediction for Belgian GP weekend

Ferrari reverted to its Spanish GP spec at the Hungaroring after the Barcelona upgrades failed. But Leclerc felt that the team was in the right direction.

Issues will be solved, says Leclerc but he does not expect the SF-24 to be competitive at this weekend’s Belgian GP.

Ferrari lost P2 in the Constructors’ Championship after the Hungarian GP as McLaren overtook them. The Woking-based team’s 1-2 finish took them to second, just 51 points behind Red Bull.

Ferrari, meanwhile, will be looking over its shoulders, wary of Mercedes taking P3 away in the coming weeks.