Charles Leclerc fears ‘the worst’ for Ferrari after Italian Grand Prix victory at Monza

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Charles Leclerc took a surprise victory for Ferrari at the Italian Grand Prix after McLaren had locked out the front row of the grid at Monza.

The Monegasque sandwiched the two McLaren drivers on the opening lap after passing Lando Norris heading through the first Lesmo after Oscar Piastri took the lead at the second chicane.

This allowed Leclerc to adopt a one-stop strategy and later inherited the lead from Piastri with McLaren keeping to a two-stop race.

The Ferrari had clear air and stormed to victory despite the McLaren pair giving chase, with Piastri even left surprised by the Ferrari’s bold strategy at Monza and Leclerc’s pace on worn tyres.

Monza marks Leclerc’s second win of the season and Ferrari’s third of 2024. Nico Rosberg had goosebumps after Leclerc won the Italian GP as the Maranello squad executed their strategy perfectly and got the win in front of the passionate Tifosi.

Leclerc and Ferrari are third in their respective championships, with the latter closing the gap to defending champions Red Bull in the constructors’ standings as the Milton Keynes squad struggled to keep up with their rivals at Monza.

Charles Leclerc fears Ferrari repeating their ‘worst’ run after winning the Italian GP

Yet, speaking after the Italian Grand Prix, Leclerc expressed some concern for his Ferrari team going forward after grabbing the victory at Monza.

Following Leclerc’s win at his home Grand Prix in Monaco earlier this year, he and Ferrari endured a streak of woes at the next few rounds.

The Italian team recorded a double retirement in Canada, with Leclerc suffering from engine trouble while teammate Carlos Sainz was wiped out at turn seven following an incident with Alex Albon.

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After finishing fifth at Catalunya, Leclerc also had two dismal back-to-back races in Austria and Great Britain. His race was jeopardised at Spielberg on the opening lap, too, following front wing damage, ultimately finishing 11th.

Silverstone was another disaster as he limped home in 14th and a lap down. Now, after winning at Monza, Leclerc is hoping not to repeat ‘the worst three or four races of the season’ as Ferrari look to ‘reset’ following the Italian Grand Prix.

Speaking to the media, via RacingNews365, the 26-year-old said: “We did that reset from Monaco to Montreal, but as we’ve seen from Monaco to Montreal, it was a really big change from one weekend to another.

“And then we went through three or four of the worst races of the season, just because we were trying to understand what was going on in our car.

“So, hopefully, we don’t go through three or four very difficult races from now on, and I don’t think it will be the case.

“But, again, it’s very important that not only the team, but I think also the expectations from outside don’t become crazy high from one race to another because this is not realistic.

“Have we done a step forward? Yes. Is it enough to go and win races until the end of the season? I don’t think so yet, but we did a good step in the right direction.”

Can Ferrari keep up the momentum after winning at Monza?

Ferrari’s win at Monza surprised everyone, especially considering the pace of the McLarens all weekend.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Norris took pole over Piastri and was a tenth up on both Leclerc and Sainz in fourth and fifth respectively. Yet after Piastri divebombed Norris for the lead, Leclerc took advantage to take second and allowed him to move over to the one-stop strategy.

While Ferrari had the pace in the clear air to hold on to victory at Monza, the next round at Baku will present another challenge, creating that fear for Leclerc as he hopes the team do not repeat their misery following Monaco as they try to understand the unpredictable SF-24.

After the Italian team also closed their gap to Red Bull to 39 points, the pressure is on the latter to maintain their lead but also for Ferrari to keep the momentum and push on after Monza.