Leclerc shares Ferrari demand after Italian GP triumph

Charles Leclerc has called for a “reset” at Ferrari after he stormed to victory in front of the Tifosi at the Italian Grand Prix.

The 26-year-old took his second win of the season, going two-for-two in home race triumphs this season, having won the first Monaco Grand Prix of his career in May.

With the top four teams separated by relatively little in Monza, Leclerc and Ferrari put the offset, one-stop strategy to good use to beat the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, despite the pair locking out the front row of the grid.

However, The Monegasque driver has cautioned against “crazy high expectations” after sending Ferrari – and its fans – into raptures at the Temple of Speed.

“We shouldn’t rely on the race we have just done,” Leclerc told media including RacingNews365.

“And as a team, it’s really important for us that once we come back at the factory, we reset from everything that has happened during the weekend.

“We learn from it and we try to analyse everything, but we should leave emotions aside and reset as a team and go again in Baku, not having crazy high expectations because that’s not where the team is at the moment.

“Monza is a very specific track. We have been very strong this weekend, but Baku will be maybe very different and Singapore again very different. So we’ve got to reset.”

Leclerc’s Monza win was supported by a raft of upgrades the Scuderia introduced for its home race, including some track-specific developments.

But with the “very different” Azerbaijan and Singapore Grand Prix to come, there is no guarantee its newly-reestablished form will translate to success there.

After his last victory, Leclerc endured a torrid run of five races without a podium finish – with only two points scores in that span.

The developments the team introduced through that period saw performance regress, and most of that package ultimately had to be unwound.

Therefore, the now seven-time grand prix is keen to downplay expectations, arguing Ferrari had not yet done enough to win on a consistent basis.

“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,” he said.

“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.”