Leclerc supports Ferrari’s potential return to competitiveness once they resolve their issue with bouncing. The bouncing problem has hindered Ferrari’s progress in recent races of the 2024 Formula 1 season. Despite starting strong with a win in Australia and a dominant victory in Monaco, Ferrari’s upgrade package introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix caused bouncing issues with their F1 car. Since then, Ferrari has only managed one third-place finish in Austria, falling behind McLaren, Red Bull, and Mercedes in the pecking order. However, Leclerc remains optimistic that once they solve the bouncing problem, Ferrari will make significant progress. He believes that resolving this issue will help them regain a high level of performance and take a big step forward.
Heading into the Belgian Grand Prix, the final race before the Summer break, Leclerc anticipates that bouncing will continue to be a challenge, making it difficult to compete with the top three teams. In Hungary, Ferrari managed to mitigate the bouncing issue with a modified floor and the circuit’s low-speed configuration, resulting in a fourth-place finish for Leclerc. However, he expects Spa to pose a tougher challenge. Leclerc acknowledges that it’s hard to predict their performance, considering the issues they’ve faced in recent races. He believes that Spa will highlight the bouncing problem, potentially causing more difficulties for Ferrari. While McLaren has made significant progress and consistently outperformed Ferrari, Leclerc doesn’t consider them a target for this weekend. He expects a close battle with Mercedes and emphasizes the importance of minimizing point losses to the current leaders, McLaren and Red Bull. Leclerc hopes that Ferrari will soon introduce new parts to their car, allowing them to close the gap to these two teams.