Charles Leclerc says that the Ferrari Formula 1 team’s collective mindset is the key to the Italian outfit’s strong form in 2024.
Leclerc believes that under Fred Vasseur the team has learned to ignore “outside noise” and work in a more disciplined way.
The team has won five races this season, and is chasing McLaren in the battle for the constructors’ World Championship.
“I think the mindset is a big part of why we are much stronger as a team now,” said Leclerc. “In F1, and especially around Ferrari, there are always rumours, there are always things that are being said.
“There’s obviously very deep analysis on why we are not performing at this race, or why we are really good at this race. And all this outside noise in the past used to affect us a little bit, and in the way we worked.
“And I think since Fred got within the team there’s been a big step forward in that, and I think that helps the whole team to work better, to work in a more disciplined way, without being affected by the outside perception, which is very, very important. So that was a that was a big step forward.”
Leclerc remains confident that Ferrari can still catch McLaren in the championship fight.
“I think the target is to beat McLaren, and we really think that we have a shot at it this year,” he said. “We’ve been particularly strong in the last three races, but we are also aware that we cannot rely on the good results of the last three races.
“We’ve got to focus step-by-step, as I was saying. And the mentality is super important in those times, and not let yourself be carried away with the positive environment we are in at the moment, and just work as hard as whenever we were in a tough time.
“And that’s what we are trying to do, to try and put everything together, to first of all focus on this race and try to maximise everything. There are still lots of points to grab this weekend, but in Qatar, there will be a sprint weekend as well, so quite a lot of points. So we’ve just got to stay on it and stay focused until the end.”
Ferrari is expected to be strong in Las Vegas this weekend in terms of its overall aero and mechanical package.
However Leclerc acknowledges that tyre warm-up could be a problem in the cold conditions.
“I do still think that this could be the case,” he said. “However, we don’t exactly know how much that did change from last year. I mean, it’s very difficult to compare obviously a completely different car.
“However, we know that we are better on tyres, that we are less aggressive on them, which means that the temperature builds up a little bit slower, and on track like this, where tyre warm up is going to be an issue, it was the an issue for everybody last year, I expect it to be a bit more of an issue this year.
“Don’t get me wrong, I still think that is going to be a positive weekend for us. I think on paper, it seems that our car characteristics are fitting this track, and I think we should be fast.”
Adam Cooper F1 