Charles Leclerc

Credits- IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Charles Leclerc finished in P3 at the Dutch GP, ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz, who was P5. This result capped a satisfying weekend for Ferrari, following a difficult end to the first half of the season. Leclerc believes that with this result in Zandvoort, his team has made a step forward.

Leclerc felt that no other team made as much progress as Ferrari did in The Netherlands, considering their poor start to the weekend. On the F1: Chequered Flag podcast, he said,

“…if you look compared to absolutely everybody, whether it’s the Aston or the Mercedes or the Red Bull, we did a step forward… compared to yesterday in qualifying.” 

However, there was confusion in the Ferrari camp despite their 25-point haul in Zandvoort. Leclerc admitted that the team was unaware of the exact reasons behind its sudden burst of performance. They would look into the matter to find answers and unlock potential, which could help them in the remaining nine races, Leclerc added.

Ferrari’s start to 2024 was strong, and they had two race wins under their belt — Australia and Monaco. Upgrades brought to the Spanish GP, however, put them on a downward slope. McLaren overtook them as Red Bull’s prime challengers and soon became F1’s fastest team.

Ferrari closing the gap with McLaren

McLaren had the quickest car in Zandvoort, evidenced by race-winner Lando Norris‘ 20+ second gap to Max Verstappen, who finished P2. Leclerc, however, held off Oscar Piastri‘s McLaren to take third place, which proved that with correct strategy and good driving, the Woking-based team could be stopped.

Leclerc’s SF-24 was quick on the hard tires, which reaffirmed that Ferrari wasn’t too far behind McLaren. He said,

“The only standout is maybe McLaren that still had the same pace that we saw yesterday. But even McLaren we’re much closer than where we were yesterday.”

Leclerc and Ferrari travel to Monza next for the Italian GP — their home race. By finding out what made them so strong in Zandvoort, they could put up a show for the Tifosi at the iconic circuit, where they last won in 2019.