F1 News: Leclerc plays down Ferrari gains as ADUO looms

(GMM) Charles Leclerc (pictured) has played down expectations that Ferrari’s major Miami upgrade will immediately close the gap to Mercedes.

“It’s strange to see so many updates brought by so many teams. Almost everyone here will have a new car. Five weeks off have pushed the departments to the limit,” he said.

“One thing I doubt – I don’t think the technical innovations will radically change the hierarchy from the start of the year.”

That is despite championship leader Kimi Antonelli admitting Mercedes has brought “practically nothing new” to Miami.

“Just small things, while the others are bringing big packages,” said the Italian.

But while encouraged by Ferrari’s developments, including the potential use of the highly-anticipated ‘Macarena’ rear wing, Leclerc was clear about the current pecking order.

“Mercedes is still too far ahead. I don’t think these developments will be enough to catch up,” he said.

“It will certainly be important for us to compare ourselves with McLaren, which is very close. I hope the updates will help us keep up.”

He also underlined that a bigger step could still come on the engine side – depending on the FIA’s regulatory decisions surrounding the ADUO scheme.

“Then we’ll look at the engine side, which I don’t think is confirmed yet whether we’ll have it or not – I hope that will be the case – and if it is, we’ll see what kind of progress that can allow us to make.”

“That second step is also different, because if the situation is what we expect, our competitors won’t have the possibility to make that step. So that’s a gap we could potentially close.”

“In the first case, with the chassis and aerodynamics, I expect everyone to be bringing what is essentially a new car here, and everyone is pushing very hard – so we’ll see whether that will be enough for us to close the gap to them.”

On the Miami rule tweaks, Leclerc struck a balanced tone.

“I was satisfied with the simulator,” he said. “Now I can drive much more instinctively.”

“But other points remain unresolved – energy management when exiting corners, for example. Let’s wait and see these two qualifying sessions.”

He also described how the changes improve drivability, but not completely.

“As a driver, I felt listened to in the requests and advice we gave,” Leclerc said.

“There were software filters, bizarre behaviors where if you went flat out and then lifted off, something different from what you wanted would happen.”

“Now that’s been resolved, and we can go back to driving with instinct, although obviously there will be more work to do over the course of the season.”