Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc said Red Bull and Max Verstappen are still too far ahead for them to catch up.
Leclerc faced brake issues during the Bahrain Grand Prix, prohibiting him from challenging Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Mercedes’ George Russell for the podium, and instead finishing with the 4th best result behind teammate Carlos Sainz.
Despite those issues, the Monegasque admitted Ferrari is still nowhere near the current champions in terms of performance.
“I think we are in a much better place compared to last year,” Leclerc said, but when asked whether they will catch the Red Bulls, he said “not for now.”
“After the first race, we were more trying to fix the issues rather than focusing on the future and the next upgrades.
“This year the car is in a much better place, in a place where we expected it to be. So now we can focus on the future upgrades.
“That is looking better. However, Max is still too far ahead.”
Focusing on the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the soon-to-be Hamilton teammate said he doesn’t “think this track is our main strength. I feel like it was more on the medium-speed [corners] where we were strong.
“I think also we have historically always been strong in Bahrain. So I would prefer to wait a few more races to see what are our weaknesses and what are our strong points, as it’s probably too early to say for now.”