As the nineteenth round of the season approaches, all eyes are on McLaren and Red Bull. The Championship fight between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen will undoubtedly dominate F1 news coverage in the coming weeks. However, at one stage this year, Ferrari were Red Bull’s nearest challengers. After a tricky mid-season, Charles Leclerc thinks Ferrari can mount a title charge in 2025.
Leclerc explains why Ferrari expect to fight for next year’s Championship
After claiming victories in Miami and Monaco, Ferrari began this year’s campaign in encouraging fashion. Unfortunately for the Italian team, their season spiralled after upgrades introduced at the Spanish GP made the SF-24 worse.
Whilst these updates produced additional downforce as expected, they also created bouncing and general aerodynamic instability.
Like many teams in the last eighteen months, Ferrari went backwards when they intended to go forward. It wasn’t until the corrective upgrades brought to the Italian GP that the Scuderia reversed the damage caused.
Had Ferrari avoided this mid-season hiccup, they could be firmly in the hunt for both Championships. However, the Maranello squad is optimistic that a smooth winter of development will put them in contention next season.
Speaking to ESPN, Charles Leclerc explained why fighting for the 2025 title is realistic:
“Every season that we go into, we always think about and target the title.
“That’s what Ferrari should target, and I believe that we are working very well as a team.
“Competition is very tough, and they are very strong – McLaren, especially in the second part of this season, have been impressive.
“But we are understanding quite a lot of things. We are seeing quite a lot of gains. We just need time to bring those in the form of upgrades on the car.”
Since next year’s cars will be an evolution from this season, it is imperative that Ferrari continue building momentum in the coming weeks.
Assuming they continue the trajectory established with their Monza update package, there is reason to assume that Fred Vasseur’s team can be in the conversation for Championships in 2025.
With Lewis Hamilton to drive alongside Charles Leclerc next year, Ferrari’s progress in the coming weeks will be especially interesting to observe.
