Felipe Massa says he’s desperate for ‘incredible’ driver to challenge Max Verstappen in 2024

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Former Ferrari star Felipe Massa has admitted that he really wants Charles Leclerc to be challenging for the Drivers’ Championship in 2024.

The Brazilian thinks the 26-year-old has an advantage over teammate Carlos Sainz heading into this season despite the Spaniard being the only man to win a race outside of Red Bull last year.

Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Felipe Massa was previewing the upcoming season.

The 11-win driver understandably still has a soft spot for Ferrari after the years he spent with the team.

He came so close to winning the title in 2008, when a last-lap overtake from Lewis Hamilton denied win an unbelievable homecoming at Interlagos.

Ferrari won the Constructors’ Championship that year, but haven’t won a title of any sort since then.

They’ve had to sit and watch Mercedes and Red Bull dominate Formula 1 but will hope this year is the season that luck finally changes.

Massa has admitted that he really hopes Charles Leclerc can challenge Max Verstappen in 2024.

The Monegasque finished runner-up to his Red Bull rival in 2022, but he was still nearly 150 points behind Verstappen.

The gap increased even further last year and it’s up to Ferrari to develop a car that can finally match Red Bull.

Massa wants Leclerc to challenge in 2024

Speaking about both Ferrari drivers’ chances, Massa said: “Ferrari has two very good drivers, who work well together, they just need a competitive car to show what level they can be at in a title fight.

“For Verstappen, who always starts from the front, out of the fray, and drives a car with perfect behaviour, it is much simpler.

“I hope that Charles will finally have a competitive Ferrari, without the reliability problems that have occurred in recent years, and that demonstrates that it has the consistency of performance to challenge Max in the championship.

“The red has failed in this objective for too many years. It’s clear that the problem in Maranello is certainly not the drivers.”

For Leclerc to live up to Massa’s expectations in 2024, he needs everything to go right not only during the season but behind the scenes in Maranello this winter as well.

Red Bull gave up development of their 2023 car in September, meaning they’ve had months to make this year’s car even faster.

Unfortunately, Ferrari are reportedly not satisfied with the steps forward they’ve taken in recent months.

They’ve got just over a month until pre-season testing to make any necessary adjustments.