Charles Leclerc makes ‘wonderful’ Ferrari admission as he targets third win at Monza

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The Italian Grand Prix is the perfect chance for Charles Leclerc and Ferrari to bounce back from their retirement at Zandvoort as F1 heads to Monza.

The Maranello outfit suffered a complete disaster at the Dutch GP as they registered no points. Leclerc and teammate Lewis Hamilton both crashed at turn three.

Ferrari ‘totally reconfigured’ their setup at Zandvoort, but high-speed sections still proved to be a weakness for the SF-25. Qualifying fifth and seventh respectively, Leclerc and Hamilton struggled to make up ground.

Hamilton had a ‘very unusual’ crash on lap 23 as he lost the rear end on the wide line on the banking at turn three. Teammate Leclerc had pitted in an attempt to undercut the cars in front, but the safety car halted his advantage.

After pitting again for soft tyres, Leclerc collided with Kimi Antonelli and was sent spinning into the barriers and into retirement. After a pointless race, Ferrari will be desperate to bounce back, especially on home soil at Monza.

Charles Leclerc says it will be ‘wonderful’ to grab his third Monza win in front of the Tifosi

The Italian Grand Prix is already off to a difficult start for the home heroes, as Hamilton will serve a five-place grid penalty for a yellow flag infringement at Zandvoort. But the team appear to have a surprising amount of confidence going into the event.

Ferrari may have fixed their ride height issues, as their new setup allowed the team to run the cars lower to the ground without causing excessive plank wear. Ferrari’s problem with ride height is an ‘open secret’ in the paddock, but they may now have a solution.

Of course, their progress was hindered by their double DNF at Zandvoort, but the mood around the team is positive ahead of their home race. ‘Everyone’ at Ferrari is convinced they can challenge McLaren, and Leclerc is targeting another victory at Monza.

The Monegasque driver has won on Ferrari’s home turf twice in F1, claiming victory in 2019 and last season after executing a one-stop strategy to beat the McLarens. He proclaimed to Ferrari fans at the Royal Palace in Milan that he wants to add a third.

He said via Sky Sport Italia: “In French, as in Italian, they say that three is a thousand, and I hope to get another win at Monza. And with you fans, it will be wonderful.”

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Charles Leclerc assesses his ambitious overtake on George Russell at the Dutch Grand Prix – ‘instinct prevails’

Jacques Villeneuve believes Leclerc’s ‘star has fallen’ at Ferrari, stating that the 27-year-old is now realising that he will ‘never be world champion’. He will be determined to prove his doubters wrong after a disappointing weekend at Zandvoort.

Despite his crash, Leclerc did produce one of the moments of the race as he made an ambitious move on Mercedes’ George Russell after the first safety car restart. He lunged around the outside at turn 11, before passing him at turn 12, almost running across the gravel and taking each other out.

When asked about the overtake in Milan, he replied: “I didn’t win, but I had fun. These are situations where instinct prevails, and so do other situations.

“I had to take a risk, and luckily it went well. Did I see it again? On my Instagram feed, there’s only the one from after Zandvoort…”