Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has recognised the team still have work to do if they are going to be competitive compared to their closest Championship rivals, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport.
Although predictions were that the Italian team would be able to bring the fight to Mercedes for the title this year, their performance in pre-season testing showed they were struggling for pace, with the Mercedes outfit once again coming out on the top of the timesheets.
Team principal Mattia Binotto was clear that what they had shown during winter testing was an example of their “true” performance, a claim which has been backed up by Leclerc.
“I still believe we have been struggling a bit during testing so we need to catch up,” Leclerc is quoted as saying by Crash.net.
“Whether we will be able to or not I don’t know, but last year we had a good progression throughout the year. I think we need to keep working as we did last year and I’m pretty sure the results will come.”
He added: “It’s going to be a difficult season for everyone because as soon as it starts it’s not going to stop and we won’t have any breaks to develop the car more than the others.
“So I think the work on track will be extremely important and more than it has been any other years because we will spend a lot of time on track whenever the season will restart.
“It’s going to be very important to be focused and ready from the first race onwards and us drivers need to be able to give the right feedback to the team and to try and help the team in the right direction straight away,” Leclerc concluded.
