Ferrari and Charles Leclerc are having a terrible F1 season in 2023. They went from challenging for the title last year to being 4th this year. They have been jumped by both Aston Martin and Mercedes. Fred Vasseur, the new team principal, has had a tough first year on the job. As Red Bull continue to dominate the sport, Ferrari and Charles Leclerc shift their focus to 2024.
Ferrari slip back
Charles Leclerc was very open at the end of the summer break about Ferrari’s lack of progress. He said everyone wanted to fight for the title this year. Both he and the team had to readjust expectations after the first few races.
Ferrari are obviously ruing the ground they have lost to Red Bull. However, the loss to both Aston Martin and Mercedes will be hurting them more.
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Charles Leclerc’s disappointing season
Charles Leclerc is having a disappointing F1 season himself. He has been less consistent than his teammate Carlos Sainz, despite being given better strategies. He has crashed quite often while trying to outperform his car. His driving in wet and changing conditions is lacking, and he admits he has to work on it.
At Zandvoort, Charles Leclerc crashed on a drying track in Q3. In the race, he went off the wet track and damaged his floor. However, the shocking bit is that he went off the track with intermediate tyres while other drivers managed to stay on track with slicks. He eventually retired from this damage, compounding a bad 2023 season.
New Car, New Hopes
Ferrari started these new regulations with arguably the fastest car. However, Red Bull has showcased much better development and left them behind. Ferrari’s head of Aero, Enrico Cardile, has revealed that the 2024 car will be structurally different from their current car. This will hopefully solve the balance issues both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have complained about.
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Fred Vasseur has stated how this new car is already projected to be about 8 tenths faster. Charles Leclerc cares more about the balance though. He “can’t wait” to drive the 2024 car, and hopefully challenge for the title.
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