Charles Leclerc says Ferrari is unlikely to complete second in Formulation 1’s the constructors’ championship regardless of his back-to-back podiums in Austin and Mexico Metropolis.
Ferrari has moved again into second place – one level forward of Mercedes and 10 forward of Pink Bull – following Leclerc’s runner-up end to Lando Norris in Mexico Metropolis. Every week earlier, Leclerc completed third behind Max Verstappen and Norris in america Grand Prix, however he says he’s cautious of the outright tempo of a few of Ferrari’s rivals.
“It should be very, very robust,” Leclerc mentioned. “If I look again on the final two weekends, sure. If I look earlier than these two weekends, not likely.
“We simply have to focus race by race and do the right execution identical to we have executed within the final two races. That pays off, clearly, as at all times – it is very tough to be acting at this degree on a regular basis however that’s the usual that we have to goal, and hopefully that can be sufficient to present us second within the constructors.’”
Whereas Leclerc is pessimistic relating to Ferrari’s hopes of beating Mercedes and Ferrari, he admits he was additionally stunned to have the ability to rating podiums in every of the final two rounds.
“I feel we didn’t anticipate to be replicating what we have executed in Austin. We knew that in Austin we had executed the right execution, however we additionally knew that on paper we possibly did not have the tempo that McLaren or Pink Bull had. To be on the rostrum at that race was a shock, however we managed to do this once more and one step greater on the rostrum as properly.
“As we all know already, by way of pure efficiency from the automotive, it has been fairly a very long time that we have been switching our minds to 2026, and in order that [will hurt] us slightly bit extra into this final a part of the season. However by doing good executed weekends, we managed to get two podiums in a row, which is a very nice feeling.”
Leclerc was additionally beneath vital strain from Verstappen on the finish of Sunday’s race, and the Ferrari driver believes it’s seemingly he’d have been overtaken however for a late Digital Security Automotive interval.
“I used to be very completely happy to see the [VSC] popping out within the final two laps. I feel with out it, there was extra likelihood of Max getting previous than me staying in entrance,” he admitted. “Particularly with these medium tires, the sensation was simply not there from the start to the tip.
“I used to be undoubtedly tempted by the 2 stops, however I do not know. On the finish, I simply caught to what I used to be on, which was the medium tire, and tried to make it work – and we did. It was shut. We bought slightly bit fortunate, however I am proud we made it stick.”
