Charles Leclerc anticipates Ferrari 'step forward' with upcoming boost

Charles Leclerc is eagerly anticipating the arrival of fresh Ferrari upgrades in a bid to close the gap to the front of the field.

Ferrari sees itself perched second in the constructors' championship, despite sitting as the only team in the top four in the standings that has not yet claimed a race win.

The Italian squad entered the season hoping to be in a title race but has been unable to challenge runaway leaders McLaren.

But with just four podiums in 12 races, it has been far from what the team was hoping for.

“Much tougher first part of the season than what we expected,” Leclerc told media including RacingNews365 when asked to sum up the opening half of the campaign.

“I think when you end up last year like we did, fighting for victories, fighting for the world constructors’ championship, we started this year hoping that at least we’d start in the same position, which was not the case. 

“We struggled a bit more.”

Ferrari is on the verge of deploying a new rear suspension, which it hopes will offer a boost in performance for the second half of the campaign.

As much of the focus will soon likely be placed on next year's car built under a fresh set of technical regulations, Leclerc is hopeful the final push of upcoming upgrades will offer the team a boost in the pecking order.

“But now we are finding our way again with the development,” he said. “It definitely helped us to do some steps forward. 

“I know that there are more things coming, hopefully as soon as possible, which will help us to close the gap to McLaren, to Red Bull as well. 

“Mercedes seems to be maybe a bit more up and down. But it’s up to us to do a better job than others and try and catch the guys in front.”