Leclerc says Ferrari has work to do to “catch up” to Mercedes

Charles Leclerc admits Ferrari has work to do in order to “catch up” to its chief Formula 1 rival Mercedes when the 2020 season finally starts.

Despite being tipped to mount a stronger challenge to Mercedes this year in the championship race, Ferrari appeared to struggle during winter testing as the German manufacturer ended the two weeks of pre-season once again looking like the team to beat.

Ferrari conceded it had lost some of its previous power advantage in a bid to find greater cornering performance this season, though its overall package seemed to be lagging behind Mercedes as the teams arrived in Melbourne for the planned season-opener, before the coronavirus pandemic forced the current suspension to racing.

Scuderia team principal Mattia Binotto insisted that the team’s showing during pre-season was a reflection of its “true” performance, and Leclerc echoed his boss’ verdict.

“I still believe we have been struggling a bit during testing so we need to catch up,” Leclerc said during a video interview from his Monaco apartment.

“Whether we will be able to or not I don’t know, but last year we had a good progression throughout the year. I think we need to keep working as we did last year and I’m pretty sure the results will come.

“It’s going to be a difficult season for everyone because as soon as it starts it’s not going to stop and we won’t have any breaks to develop the car more than the others,” he added.

“So I think the work on track will be extremely important and more than it has been any other years because we will spend a lot of time on track whenever the season will restart.

“It’s going to be very important to be focused and ready from the first race onwards and us drivers need to be able to give the right feedback to the team and to try and help the team in the right direction straight away.”