Leclerc says upgrade battle will decide F1 title fight

Charles Leclerc has warned that the race away from the circuit could become just as important as the action on it this season, as teams continue adapting to Formula 1’s new technical era.

With fresh regulations affecting both power units and aerodynamics, the competitive order remains fluid. So far, Mercedes has made the strongest start, winning all three opening races and setting the benchmark for the rest of the field. Ferrari has not yet been able to match that pace consistently, but the Italian squad has still collected a podium at every round, showing it remains firmly in the fight near the front.

Even so, Leclerc made it clear Ferrari is not interested in simply securing solid results.

“This championship is going to be all about development and the upgrades that each team is going to bring. For now, we are in an okay-ish place, but of course we’re not here to only do podiums and we want to win races, which at the moment seems very difficult because Mercedes is at a very high level,” Leclerc said, as quoted by RacingNews365.

Attention is now turning to the next round in Miami, where many teams are expected to introduce major updates after the unexpected April break in the calendar. Leclerc confirmed Ferrari is pushing hard behind the scenes to accelerate its progress, though he knows rivals will be doing exactly the same.

“We are working very hard and especially the people back at the factory are working extremely hard to bring upgrades as soon as possible. I know there are quite a few things coming up soon. Whether this is going to make the difference or not, I don’t know, and I’m pretty sure the others are not on vacation either, so it’s going to be tough,” the Ferrari driver added.

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