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Stefan Tonev
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Ferrari’s main goal is Formula 1 title in 2023, Leclerc says
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Last year, Ferrari defeated Mercedes in its battle for the runner-up spot in the Constructors’ Championship

Charles Leclerc has said that Ferrari’s main goal is to go one better than last year by delivering the Formula 1 World Championship title back to Maranello.

“Well, that’s the goal. For sure,” Leclerc responded when asked if Ferrari can win the title this year.

Last year, Ferrari defeated Mercedes in its battle for the runner-up spot in the Constructors’ Championship. Despite winning two of the opening three races last season, Ferrari’s title challenge soon derailed, allowing Max Verstappen and Red Bull to win both championships with several rounds to spare.

Leclerc was able to hold off Sergio Perez to clinch a career-best second in the Drivers’ standings.

“They’ve had a strong start, Red Bull, and Max seems to be very, very strong,” he said. “It’s only testing, so it’s difficult to quantify by how much but it seems that they are a bit in front, compared to us.

“So we’ve got some work to do but it’s only the beginning. But the goal is definitely to go one better.”

The Italian side has elected to run an evolution of the 2022 car that returned it to winning ways with its brand new SF-23 package for the upcoming season.

Ferrari was able to come through testing without trouble, with its new team principal, Fred Vasseur, boasting the team had completed the run programme it set out.

But, with Red Bull appearing ominously quick, Leclerc has predicted Ferrari is currently a bit behind the reigning champions – although he has warned that only qualifying will reveal the true answers.

“We didn’t show everything – but Red Bull didn’t show everything,” he cautioned. Nobody showed everything. We will only see in Qualifying.

“So yeah, it’s very difficult to know exactly how we are. But global picture just tells me we are maybe a bit behind.

Following two winless years, Ferrari excelled at the start of F1’s newest era last term to emphatically register a 1-2 finish at the first race in Bahrain.