Photo: Scuderia Ferrari Press Office
Coming off a strong pre-season test program, Ferrari fancy themselves among contenting teams this year, a sentiment shared by many motorsport analysts. A constructors’ title for the Scuderia would be their first since 2008, whereas a driver’s title hasn’t happened since 2007.
Charles Leclerc has already stated that this pre-season testing schedule has been the “smoothest” he’s ever experienced with Ferrari, so the fact that he’s targeting wins should come as no surprise, especially with Mercedes “allegedly” underperforming during tests.
“I think our objective is to try and fight for wins whenever we can,” said the Monegasque driver. “Realistically, if I need to make a guess now, I would say we are a little bit behind Red Bull. But Mercedes, we don’t know, we really have no idea where they are but for sure they will be in the front, in the top three.”
Leclerc went on to say that the battle between Ferrari and Red Bull will be close but that he still believes his team is “a bit behind.”
From the outside looking in, it’s hard to tell whether he’s just being cautious with his predictions, because Red Bull hasn’t necessarily looked better than Ferrari during testing.
Meanwhile, his personal goal is to fight at the top again, said the man who claimed two major victories in 2019 – both of which are moments that he will never forget. As for how ready he feels for a title fight (if indeed he’ll be in that position), this is what he had to say:
“I feel ready. I mean I’ve always felt ready, you need to feel that way as a driver. If you don’t believe in yourself, then stay home, and I believe in myself and I feel much readier than I was in 2019. I’m more grown, I have more experience, which will help. So yes, I do [feel ready],” he stated.
The 2022 Formula 1 season gets under way this weekend in Bahrain, with the race itself scheduled for Sunday, March 20.
“I think our objective is to try and fight for wins whenever we can,” said the Monegasque driver. “Realistically, if I need to make a guess now, I would say we are a little bit behind Red Bull. But Mercedes, we don’t know, we really have no idea where they are but for sure they will be in the front, in the top three.”
Leclerc went on to say that the battle between Ferrari and Red Bull will be close but that he still believes his team is “a bit behind.”
From the outside looking in, it’s hard to tell whether he’s just being cautious with his predictions, because Red Bull hasn’t necessarily looked better than Ferrari during testing.
Meanwhile, his personal goal is to fight at the top again, said the man who claimed two major victories in 2019 – both of which are moments that he will never forget. As for how ready he feels for a title fight (if indeed he’ll be in that position), this is what he had to say:
“I feel ready. I mean I’ve always felt ready, you need to feel that way as a driver. If you don’t believe in yourself, then stay home, and I believe in myself and I feel much readier than I was in 2019. I’m more grown, I have more experience, which will help. So yes, I do [feel ready],” he stated.
The 2022 Formula 1 season gets under way this weekend in Bahrain, with the race itself scheduled for Sunday, March 20.
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