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Leclerc has optimistic target in mind after comfortable victory in the US
Charles Leclerc has revealed that he still has hopes of winning his first Formula 1 driver title in 2024. With just five races to go, the Monegasque believes he can keep up his winning form and produce a stunning championship victory. The Ferrari driver currently is 79 points behind leader Max Verstappen in third place, but with his third victory of the season in Austin, Leclerc is feeling full of confidence. Ferrari's star man admits that there are more important things to focus on, like the constructors title.
Lando Norris, who sits second in the world championship, started on pole for Sunday's United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. Behind him was championship rival Max Verstappen, whose optimistic divebomb at the first corner caused them both to lose out to a pouncing Charles Leclerc, who started from fourth place. Ferrari went on to take their second 1-2 finish of the season. Carlos Sainz overtook Verstappen with an undercut strategy, and Ferrari was unchallenged for the rest of the race. The SF-24 looked rapid and well-balanced, which sent a warning message to their competitors.
Leclerc pushes for constructors' title: 'It's the target'
The gap between third-placed Ferrari and second-placed Red Bull is now just eight points. Sergio Perez finished in seventh place in Austin, and a resurging Ferrari has closed in hugely on the Milton Keynes-based team. McLaren is currently the team to beat, but according to Leclerc, Ferrari can still win the constructors' title. "I mean, we've got to target winning the Constructors' title. It's an optimistic goal, but that's what we are here for. We'll do the maths at the end of the season. Until then, I think the best thing we can do is to focus on ourselves, on our own performance, just like we did this weekend," Leclerc began at the post-race press conference.
The Ferrari man won his third race of the season and the eighth of his career. It matches his record from 2022, where he also took three race victories. In 2022, Leclerc finished second in the standings behind a dominant Verstappen. "It's been a really good weekend for the team and for the Constrictors title. We'll try and reproduce that as often as possible. Hopefully, at the end of the year, when we do the maths, we will have won the Constructors’ title." Leclerc added.
Leclerc still holds drivers' title dream: 'Never say never'
Leclerc is still in the race for the driver's title with Verstappen and Norris. The gap between him and Verstappen is currently 79 points, but with five races to go and huge swings in performance, he is refusing to give up. "I mean, never say never. Let's say that for the constructors, if we do everything perfectly until the end of the season, no matter what McLaren does, if we do better than them, I think we can still clinch the title," he revealed, speaking confidently.
"With the drivers, I see it a bit in a different way. Even if we do everything perfectly, I feel like it will require a little bit of luck inside that to try and get that title, and we cannot really rely on luck. So, the drivers' [championship] seems to be quite unlikely. But again, I will believe in it until it's mathematically impossible. But trickier," the United States Grand Prix winner concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Jeroen Immink
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