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Leclerc critiques Ferrari for progress: "We didn't do the same step"
For Charles Leclerc and Ferrari, it has been another season of promising pace but lacking race wins. The Monegasque driver has five pole positions to his name in 2023, highlighting the speed he and Ferrari possess. But when it comes to race day on Sunday, that pace vanishes compared to Red Bull, and Leclerc has not been able to convert any to race wins.
Leclerc hopeful to compete with Red Bull in 2024
Ferrari expected to be challenging for the drivers' and constructors' titles before the 2023 Formula 1 season began. However, it quickly became apparent that nobody would be able to hang onto the pace of the rapid Red Bull.
Ferrari did well enough to challenge the Austrian team during some qualifying sessions, giving Leclerc those pole positions. But Ferrari never seemed able to challenge for race wins, apart from Carlos Sainz's victory in Singapore earlier in the season, the only race that has not been won by a Red Bull.
Speaking about this season in Thursday's press conference, Leclerc said, "It's been a disappointing season. After last year, we expected to come to the season and try and fight for the championship. But, after the first race, we understood how difficult it would be compared to the Red Bull. They had made a huge step forward, especially in race pace. We didn't do the same step, so from that moment onwards, it was a bit of a disappointment."
Even though no team would get remotely close to Red Bull after that, Leclerc believes Ferrari have 'progressed' over the 2023 season. "I think we've progressed quite a lot throughout the season, which is positive and makes me confident for the future. But there's a big gap to fill to get back the Red Bulls. So we'll work hard during the winter break, and hopefully, we'll come back stronger next year with a car which is capable of winning."