Charles Leclerc took his third podium of the 2023 F1 season at the Belgian GP; Ferrari are fourth in the constructors' championship at the summer break, which is below their expectations before the start of the season; Carlos Sainz is yet to finish in the top three this year
Tuesday 1 August 2023 07:11, UK
Charles Leclerc says his third place at the Belgian Grand Prix will put a smile on his and the team's face during the summer break, but has urged Ferrari to understand their car.
Leclerc secured Ferrari's third podium of 2023 by holding off Lewis Hamilton, which was a contrast to Ferrari's struggles at Silverstone and the Hungaroring.
The result moved Leclerc up to fifth in the drivers' championship, ahead of George Russell on countback and seven points clear of team-mate Carlos Sainz, who retired from the race at Spa-Francorchamps.
"It's really important. It gives me, and the guys at the factory and track, a smile to go into the summer break with a race like this," he told Sky Sports F1.
"It's not a completely happy face because we are still very far from Red Bull and this is our target. On the other hand, after such a difficult first part of the season, it's good to finish this half that way."
Race pace and tyre wear has been a major problem for Ferrari this season as both drivers finished outside of the top six in the two races prior to Belgium.
Leclerc believes it's difficult to read the pecking order behind Red Bull and hopes Ferrari can understand why they were much stronger at Spa.
"I think something interesting we should look into is our competitiveness from Budapest to Belgium," he added.
"Before these two races, I would have bet that Budapest would suit our track most. If you look at the two races, we were much stronger in Belgium than Budapest. This is what we need to understand in order to maximise our package in every race for the second half of the season because maybe we didn't understand that there."
Ferrari have gone over a year without winning in F1 as Red Bull began their dominance which has continued into this season as they have won 22 of the last 23 races.
The battle behind the Milton Keynes-based team has been fierce, with Aston Martin, Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari themselves all leading the fight to be on the podium at various points this year.
Team principal Frederic Vasseur doesn't want to read too many conclusions into Spa, due to the ever-changing pecking order.
"I will stay calm because we have the same talks one week ago that 'we were at the end of the world, that McLaren was flying and we were stupid'," he said.
"From one week to the other, McLaren are at the back and we were at the front. We have to stay calm and take it race by race. We know the pack is so tight. For sure, it's good to finish the first part of the season on a positive."
Ferrari are just five points behind Aston Martin in the battle for third in the constructors' championship with 10 events remaining.
Vasseur says Ferrari need to constantly improve, with changes set to be made in the "coming weeks, months and years" as part of their evolution.
"We are starting to have a much better idea of the situation and where we are weak and where we are in better shape. For sure, race after race we have a much better picture of the situation," he added.
"We are all a bit inconsistent because there is just one or two tenths between P2 and P11. It means characteristics, tyre management or level of downforce you chose at the beginning of the weekend, you can't draw any definitive conclusions. I think it will be like this until the end of the season. We have to be more consistent to understand why we are weak.
Formula 1 returns after the summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix and all sessions will be live on Sky Sports F1 from August 25-27. Stream the biggest sporting events with NOW
