Though he would have preferred that there had been “total domination” by Scuderia Ferrari, Charles Leclerc has described the first half of the 2024 Formula 1 season as being “good and interesting” for the sport.
Despite much pre-season speculation that the season would be solely dominated by Red Bull, a repeat of the 2023 season, 2024 has seen seven different drivers, from four different teams, take the top step of the podium in only fourteen races. This is in stark contrast to the 2023 season, where the strong performances in the RB19 by Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez saw the Milton Keynes-based team taking their sixth Constructor’s Championship with 22 wins (20 from Verstappen and two from Pérez) from 23 races.
During the Thursday media session at the Belgian Grand Prix, Leclerc stated that the increased number of race winners was a good thing that was “nice” for Formula 1 but admitted that he would have preferred a more dominant season from Ferrari, though that would have dampened much of the season’s excitement. He did, however, acknowledge that Ferrari had not come close to achieving the performance that would have made such dominance a realistic option for the team, and indicated Ferrari still had a lot of work to do to improve their performance, especially after their less-than-impressive performances from the Canadian Grand Prix onward.
“I mean, it’s nice of Formula 1. On one side, the biggest part of me wished there was a total domination by Ferrari, and it would be a very boring season in that sense, but it’s not and we’ve still got a lot of work to do, and obviously, with the last few races, we’re not in the momentum of fighting for wins at the moment. So, we’ve just got to focus on ourselves.”
However, he reiterated that it was “good and interesting” for Formula 1 to have so many different winners and for so many different teams to have improved their respective cars.
“But it’s true that it’s good and interesting for Formula 1 to have different winners, to have different teams developing their cars in a really good way. And yeah, this makes it very interesting.”
Leclerc, who currently sits third in the Drivers’ Championship, 22 points behind McLaren’s Lando Norris in second, and 100 points behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in first, also spoke about his frustrations from the season. The Ferrari driver had a strong start to the season, with eight top-four finishes, including his win at the Monaco Grand Prix, in the first eight races of 2024. However, a change in fortune from the Canadian Grand Prix onward, saw him struggling for points, after an early retirement in Canada and poor finishes in Austria and Great Britain.
The twenty-six-year-old acknowledged that the team had struggled quite significantly after the Monaco Grand Prix but was aware of the need for improvement. He added that the team had not been demotivated by the poor performance and were instead aiming to improve quickly to return to the high level of performance needed to secure further race wins in the 2024 season.
“Well, I mean, we went through tough moments with the team. We went through better moments with the team. At the moment, obviously, looking at the last four or five races, we are in a moment where we have struggled more. Apart from the last race [in Hungary], which I consider a good one where we maximised our potential.”
“Then, of course, we know that we have to improve our potential because for now, it’s just not good enough. But we are on it. And that doesn’t demotivate us. If anything, it motivates us even more to come back to a good level of performance and to see again the winning trophy. So yeah, there’s a big motivation in the team, and I hope that this struggling moment will be the most short possible.”
The Ferrari driver was also asked about his thoughts on the current generation of Formula 1 cars, following the implementation of the 2022 changes, and specifically on whether his natural driving style had been negatively affected by limitations at the front of the car.
“No, I quite like those cars in terms of driving style,” Leclerc answered.
He did, however, acknowledge that the newest-generation Formula 1 cars were “very difficult” and that teams had struggled with their development. He added that while he believed that the teams had become more familiar with the new generation of cars, there was still some uncertainty, especially with upgrades.
“However, they are very, very difficult cars, and you can see it amongst all teams. With the development, especially, there are always things that you don’t expect, and you would expect, I think, all the team[s] to know how those new Formula 1 cars work, but even now, you can see that whenever a team is bringing an upgrade, it’s not a given that it works as expected.”
Leclerc said that he believed that Ferrari, up until the Monaco Grand Prix, had been doing a good job understanding SF-24 and the respective upgrades, and added that while they had taken a step back at the Spanish Grand Prix, they were focusing on improving.
“I think we’ve done a really, really good job until Monaco with that. In Barcelona, we did a step back, but then every time you do a step back, it feels like very soon after you do quite a few steps forward. So that’s where we are focusing at the moment.”
Leclerc reiterated his comfort with the SF-24, which he described as being “amazing to drive” during qualifying sessions. He did, however, admit his issue with the ride of the car, which he stated was “quite tough” on the driver.
“But driving-wise, I quite like it. The only thing I’m not a big fan of is the ride, which is quite tough for us. But apart from that, the cars are amazing to drive in qualifying.”
“It’s super impressive and I really enjoy that,” he added.
