Charles Leclerc has hinted that a strong 2024 Formula 1 season lies ahead of Ferrari after his run to third place at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Leclerc ended the race from Imola on the podium, trailing Max Verstappen and Lando Norris respectively.
The Monegasque driver showed strong pace throughout and crossed the line just eight seconds down on race-winner Verstappen, who just managed to fend off Norris for victory.
Ferrari brought a sizeable upgrade to the race weekend, with Leclerc pinpointing that most of the squad's pace deficit was left on the start-finish straight.
“At least it's a podium,” Leclerc said immediately after the race. “Of course, I'm only very happy when I win and today we didn't quite make it.
“We were very fast at the beginning of the stint with the Hard, I started to push to try and put some pressure on Lando.
“But later on they were incredibly quick. All in all, I think the race pace today was quite strong.
“We lacked yesterday in qualifying, after looking we missed [time] on the first straight especially which we will look into.
“For the rest of the lap we were quick. So it's looking good for the for the rest of the season.”
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'Special' Monaco
With Ferrari enjoying its home race from Imola this weekend, next time out it will be Leclerc's local event in Monaco.
Leclerc has expressed his excitement of returning to the famous venue, despite not having a successful track record at his home round.
“It's incredible anyway to be on the podium with all the Tifosi here at Imola,” Leclerc highlighted.
“Monaco is going to be a very special of course, as special as here at Imola.
“There's a lot of red and it's always amazing to see that.”
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