“The Turning Point”: Charles Leclerc Given a Glimmer of Hope as Ferrari’s Upcoming Overhaul Tipped to Turn Tables

The advent of the ground-effect regulations brought in a new era of Red Bull’s meteoric rise last year. The regulations intended to close the gap between the teams, but up ahead on the grid, it did the opposite. However, for the initial few races, Ferrari held them up with some phenomenal performances. Performances that they could not replicate for the rest of the season. Eventually, Charles Leclerc and the Prancing Horse only managed to find themselves in the runner-up position with a giant gulf of points between them and the leaders. The plan was to exact vengeance for the humiliation in the brand-new 2023 season. That too seems to be failing miserably until now. However, the Maranello factory has a set of amendments in the pipeline that are touted to turn the game on its head.

Ferrari’s unveiling of the SF-23 was perhaps the best unveiling event among all F1 teams. While others chose to simply lift the covers off of their cars and have a brief chat with their drivers and team bosses, the red team chose to show the fans how theirs ran on the tarmac. That was a bold move, considering how other teams were hiding parts of their cars until the very last moment. However, Ferrari was confident in their machinery, confidence that came crashing down when Red Bull hit the ground running during the testing in Bahrain.

Ferrari’s upcoming upgrades touted to change Charles Leclerc & Co’s fortunes

As we moved to actual racing, the SF-23 turned out to be not just slower than Red Bull but also Mercedes and Aston Martin. Apart from the brilliance Leclerc put on display in Baku, where he scored double podium finishes, the team does not have much to show for its efforts. That is set to change in Barcelona when they bring in an extensive set of upgrades.

Speaking on a recent episode of the F1 Nation podcast, Italian journalist Roberto Chinchero revealed, “I think there is something in the new aerodynamics but the big part would be in Barcelona. Barcelona is the key point, the turning point. And I think that it’s better because in Imola, of course, the forecast will not help. If it’s raining, it’s not helping if you want to judge how good is the new update and at the same time there is a different qualifying system. So, I think Barcelona will be the turning point.”

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Ferrari will hope with all their heart that these new upgrades prove its worth in gold. That is because ever since they failed to make an impact on the 2023 season, rumors about Leclerc looking for a move away from Ferrari caught on.

Are rumors about Leclerc seeking a move to Mercedes true?

One of the most realistic moves for the Monegasque appears to be to Mercedes. That is because Lewis Hamilton is currently in his final year of the contract with the team. And going by how they too have failed to make an impact lately, it is not a ludicrous idea to think that he, too, is probably looking to move on. However, the Silver Arrows boss, Toto Wolff, is committed to signing another contract with the Briton. Meanwhile, he is keeping an eye on Leclerc for the long haul.

BBC Sport quoted Wolff as saying in Baku, “Charles is a super guy and for the long-term future someone you have to have on your radar but not for the short and medium term.”

“Nobody doubts Charles’ ability and he is a good guy. He is 100 percent committed to Ferrari and we are 100 percent committed to putting pen to paper with Lewis.”

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Do you think Ferrari’s upgrades will be enough to challenge Red Bull’s dominance? Or has the Austrian team pulled too far ahead of the competition?