Leclerc demands Ferrari realism over late F1 title push

Charles Leclerc believes some recent F1 track have made Ferrari "look particularly good" as he demanded a realistic out-look on the championships. 

Leclerc currently sits third in the drivers' on 245 points, 86 behind leader Max Verstappen on 331 with Lando Norris on 279 and best placed to launch an attack on the Red Bull. 

In the constructors', Ferrari is also third on 441 points to McLaren's 516 and Red Bull's 475 with six rounds, including three sprints left in the campaign. 

After a mid-season dip in form, Ferrari has bounced back over the Belgium-Singapore leg, with Leclerc winning in Monza and banking podiums at Spa, Zandvoort and Baku. 

Despite the upturn in form, the Monegasque believes this to simply be track-specific as he warned against getting too carried away.

"There needs to be a little bit of luck involved on our side, because even if we do really well until the end of the season, it is going to be difficult to go and take the drivers' title," Leclerc told media including RacingNews365.

"But I am not really thinking about it now, I'm just trying to focus race-by-race and the worst thing we can do at this moment is to have wrong expectations going forward.

"We have gone through some very specific tracks since Monza, which has made us look particularly good, and I hope that picture remains [after Singapore].

"However, I expect McLaren and Red Bull to get back to their normal level of performance, McLaren never left it, but it is still the car to beat and Red Bull will come back and it will make our life a bit more difficult.

"We need to be good at having the right expectations going into weekends because otherwise it can push you to try and find performance that is not in the car, but we are working well and the development is going well."