Charles Leclerc says Ferrari is unlikely to complete second in Formulation 1’s constructors’ championship regardless of back-to-back podiums in Austin and Mexico Metropolis.
With Leclerc behind Lando Norris in Mexico Metropolis, Ferrari is again in second place, one level behind Mercedes and 10 factors behind Crimson Bull. Every week earlier, on the US Grand Prix, Leclerc completed third behind Max Verstappen and Norris, however stated he was cautious of the plain tempo of his Ferrari rivals.
“It should be very powerful,” Leclerc stated. “In the event you look again on the final two weekends, sure, and look again on the earlier two weekends, you didn’t.
“We simply must focus race by race and carry out completely like we did within the final two races. As all the time, it clearly paid off. It’s extremely troublesome to take care of this stage of efficiency on a regular basis, however that is the usual we must always intention for and I hope it is sufficient to take second place within the constructors’ championship.”
Leclerc is pessimistic about Ferrari’s hopes of beating Mercedes and Ferrari, however admits he was stunned to have completed on the rostrum in every of the final two races.
“We did not count on to have the ability to repeat what we did in Austin. We knew we had an ideal efficiency in Austin, however we additionally knew that on paper we’d not have had the tempo of McLaren or Crimson Bull. It was a shock to be on the rostrum in that race, however we have been in a position to do it once more and we have been one step increased on the rostrum.”
“As you already know, by way of the pure efficiency of the automotive, it has been a very long time since we modified our minds for 2026, so we’ll in all probability endure slightly bit extra in the direction of the second half of the season. However we ran the weekend completely and managed to get our second podium in a row. It is a actually nice feeling.
Leclerc was underneath heavy stress from Verstappen within the closing phases of Sunday’s race, and the Ferrari driver believes he doubtless would have been overtaken had it not been for the second half of the digital security automotive.
“I used to be very joyful to see (VSC) come out within the final two laps. With out VSC, I believe Max would have been extra prone to be handed than me to remain in entrance,” he admitted. “There was no feeling from begin to end, particularly with the medium tires.
“Clearly I used to be tempted to make two stops, however I do not know. Ultimately I simply caught to the tires I had on, the medium tires, and tried to make it work. And we did that. It was shut. We bought slightly bit fortunate, however I am proud that we have been in a position to dangle on.”
