Leclerc: 'Ferrari has bigger problem with philosophy than development'
F1 News
Ferrari was still level with Red Bull Racing after the spring of last year, but then the Scuderia quickly lost its grip on the rival team and Max Verstappen. Now, in 2023, Ferrari has almost no more view on Red Bull, with the team currently sitting in fourth. Charles Leclerc has now explained why the gap exists.
Ferrari is currently fourth in the constructors' championship, behind Mercedes and Aston Martin. The Monegasque himself is seventh in the constructors' championship and 85 points short of championship leader Verstappen. The season start was tricky for Ferrari, as they succummbed to stoppages due to reliability problems and also had to deal with Carlos Sainz colliding with Lance Stroll's Aston Martin in Melbourne.
Ferrari a problem with design
There is a now huge difference between where Ferarri is compared to Red Bull the year before. Speaking to Monaco Matin, Leclerc explains why Ferrari mainly has a problem with the philosophy of the car: "I think the targets set last year for the engineers were not good. During 2022, Red Bull took a very big step forward. They have improved a lot more, especially when it comes to racing."
"If you ask me, this is more a problem in the philosophy of the car than a problem in further development," Leclerc concluded. Fundamental flaws in the Ferrari car's design may be a bigger problem for the team than development problems, as upgrading a fundamentally flawed car could be a futile endeavour in the long run.