Charles Leclerc has admitted he doesn’t feel too confident in Ferrari’s prospects of repeating their success at Albert Park from last year.
The Monegasque started the 2022 race from pole and dominated the whole weekend as he secured a first Grand-Slam (pole, victory, led every lap and fastest lap). It was no more than a representation of Ferrari’s commanding pace as they looked the team to beat in the opening stages of last season.
This time around, however, the picture is quite different. The Red Bull team secured a consecutive 1-2 finish blowing away the entire field with considerable margin on both occasions.
The Scuderia find themselves not only behind Red Bull, but also Aston Martin and potentially Mercedes as they struggle for pace and tire management.
“Yeah, good memories, but looking at this year we are not coming into this race in the same situation as we were last year,” said Leclerc.
“I think clearly our performance is not as good as last year but we are working massively to try and come back to the front.”
“We are fully motivated to be back at the front, we know what we need to work on; I don’t think there will be any miracles for this weekend but after that we’ve got three weeks’ break and we will try to use it in the best way possible in order to bring upgrades as quickly as possible on the car.”
Ferrari sit 4th in the Constructors Championship, a massive 61 points off leaders Red Bull.