08 August 2023 , 07:53
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Charles Leclerc has admitted he's struggled to enjoy his podium finishes in the 2023 Formula 1 season while his Ferrari team lag so far behind Red Bull.
The Monegasque driver finished second in the overall standings last season, below Max Verstappen but above the Dutchman's Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez. This year, though, Verstappen has more points than the Ferrari team on his own.
Leclerc secured his second podium of the season in Belgium, finishing third behind the two Red Bulls. He still sits down in fifth overall, though, and has voiced his frustrations with how far off the pace his car has been,
"We must not settle for being second or third. We must win and we have to make that feasible," Leclerc told Corriere dello Sport (via Marca). "Podiums are nice, but I haven't really enjoyed them."
Nevertheless, he admitted to Sky Sports that the third-place finish in Spa was "important" ahead of a mid-season break, with the next race on the calendar the Dutch Grand Prix on August 27. "It gives me, and the guys at the factory and track, a smile to go into the summer break with a race like this," he said.
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"It's not a completely happy face because we are still very far from Red Bull and this is our target. On the other hand, after such a difficult first part of the season, it's good to finish this half that way."
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Leclerc has taken pole position twice this term, most recently in Belgium, but has yet to convert that into a race win. His team-mate Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, is still waiting for his first podium of the season and was forced to retire from the Belgian Grand Prix after an early collision with Oscar Piastri.
There are 10 races left this season, which ends in Abu Dhabi on November 26. Leclerc finished second in the UAE last year, as well as in Italy and Singapore where he also claimed runner-up finishes in 2022.
The 25-year-old, however, admitted recent results for Ferrari have prompted some introspection as the team still sits down in fourth in the constructors' championship. "I think something interesting we should look into is our competitiveness from Budapest to Belgium," he told Sky Sports.
"Before these two races, I would have bet that Budapest would suit our track most. If you look at the two races, we were much stronger in Belgium than Budapest. This is what we need to understand in order to maximise our package in every race for the second half of the season because maybe we didn't understand that there."