Charles Leclerc’s ‘not good enough’ admission amid potential Ferrari winless season

Charles Leclerc has dubbed Ferrari’s performances “not good enough” overall, though cited the progress the team has made to still count as a “good season” as a whole.

The Scuderia currently sits fourth in the Constructors’ standings with three rounds to go, with Mercedes and Red Bull having both taken significant points hauls at Interlagos while Ferrari was scoreless in Sunday’s race.

Charles Leclerc makes ‘not good enough’ admission on Ferrari season

Should neither Leclerc nor Lewis Hamilton win over a grand prix distance this season, this will mark the first time since 2021 the Scuderia will have registered a winless season.

Ferrari chairman John Elkann voiced his discontent with how the season has panned out so far, saying in the aftermath of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix that the team’s performances had been below expectations this year.

Leclerc has acknowledged the expectation that comes with being a Ferrari driver, with only the top step of the podium being enough to be sure of a job well done.

With Ferrari having struggled with its new car in the early part of the season, though, the Monégasque driver took positives in the steps the team has taken to get closer to the front in the second half of the season.

“It’s not good enough,” Leclerc admitted.

“I think when you drive for such a team, the only thing that is good enough is to win. But it’s also true to say that we are against very, very strong competition, and also teams that have a lot of history in the sport and that are very special in their own way.

“So, it’s not easy, but I think, as Ferrari, when you work for such an incredible brand, it’s not good enough, and you’ve got to target for winning.

“Having said all that, considering where we started the season and where we are now, it’s a good season. It’s a very good improvement throughout the season, as it’s been very difficult at the beginning of the year to understand exactly in which way what did we have to tackle with this new car.

“To now be fighting still for the second constructor should be our target and, for next year, we will target higher for sure.”

Leclerc has been the driver who has come closest to earning a win for Ferrari, though the team has just the one P1 finish this season courtesy of Lewis Hamilton’s Sprint win in China.

Asked if he would prefer earning a race win or finishing second in the Constructors’ standings for the end of the season, Leclerc replied: “I don’t know. I mean, I’ll take both.

“I think if you win, then it’s obviously more likely that you get the second in the Constructors’. So, yeah, very difficult questions to answer.

“I would love to win. I think it’s really important to at least be winning once in a season where everything has been so tough for everybody.

“The [Constructors’] second place is not what’s going to…we will probably be happier as a team after a victory, but the second place needs to be our target, and we need to target both of the two things. So yeah, I won’t choose between the two.”

Ferrari sits 36 points behind Mercedes in the Constructors’ standings with three rounds to go, after the Silver Arrows recorded one of its strongest combined results of the season in Brazil.

The Scuderia has also fallen behind Red Bull in the standings, with four points to make up to the Milton Keynes-based squad.

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