04/06/2025 14:45
Charles Leclerc has called on Ferrari to make a step forward in the
coming races to get itself into a consistently competitive position
in the F1 field. The Italian squad has endured a difficult opening
phase to the year and is yet to take a trip to the top step of the
podium. Leclerc has bagged a trio of top-three results, including
back-to-back podiums in Monaco and Spain. However, it has been
unable to challenge McLaren or Red Bull at the front of the field,
marking a disappointing opening phase to the year following its
narrow defeat in the constructors' championship last year. Having
backed up his Monaco podium with another top-three finish in Spain,
Leclerc detailed why there are contrasting emotions between the two
podiums. "It's not like I'm over the moon for a second or third
place, but it still feels good because coming to the weekend, I did
not expect that, but so I didn't last week as well in Monaco,"
Leclerc told media including RacingNews365 . "I think though in
Monaco, the disappointment was big because in FP1, FP2, FP3 we were
very strong. It was not the case here. "So, we weren't strong in
FP1, FP2, FP3 or qualifying. "But I knew I had sacrificed quali in
order to be strong in the race, and it seems to have paid off -
with a little bit of luck as well - that gave us the podium."
Ferrari currently sit second in the constructors' championship but
are a long way off leaders McLaren. With Mercedes and Red Bull
lingering close behind, Leclerc asserted Ferrari is now content
with its current form. "So on that, it [the Spain podium] is a good
surprise. And I'm very happy about our weekend, but I'm not happy
about our overall performance. "And on that, we need to do a step
soon."
