Charles Leclerc says he is unlikely to win his home race at Scuderia Monza and expects another strong show at Red Bull’s F1 Italian Grand Prix.
Ferrari’s F1-75 has lost its advantage over Red Bull’s RB18 since the start of the summer and was thoroughly dominated by rival Max Verstappen at Spa-Francorchamps and Zandvoort last weekend.
The low downforce environment at Spa-Francorchamps showed off the strong straight-line speed of Red Bull’s next-gen F1, but it was just as strong in the high downforce environment at Zandvoort, which was Ferrari’s strength. in the first rounds.
“I think it’s going to be a bit difficult weekend, at least in theory,” Leclerc said at Monza on Thursday.
“We expect Red Bull to be stronger. The track characteristics are not suitable for our car.”
“But there have been good surprises and bad surprises this year, so hopefully this is one of the good surprises and that we do better than expected.”
In the first half of the season, Ferrari’s F1-75 overtook Red Bull’s RB18, dominating its opponents with its power in the corners.
But that advantage is no longer big enough for Ferrari to compensate for Red Bull’s superior straight-line speed.
“I think it’s slower on the straights, especially compared to Red Bull, because it’s been a bit more consistent all year,” added Leclerc.
“Their main strength this year is straight-line speed. We seem a bit faster in the corners, but on a track like this, it’s not enough to regain the straight-line advantage.”
“Compared to Red Bull, I think that will be the case this weekend. Compared to Mercedes, it’s hard to predict this weekend. They’ve had their ups and downs.”
Category: F1 / Charles Leclerc / Ferrari / F1 Italian Grand Prix
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