Charles Leclerc Confident in Scuderia Ferrari’s Future in F1 Despite Departures and Struggles

Charles Leclerc says he is confident in Scuderia Ferrari’s future in Formula 1 despite two high-profile departures and a difficult start to the 2023 season. Earlier this week, it was announced that Laurent Mekies, Ferrari’s sporting director, will replace Franz Tost as AlphaTauri’s boss in 2024.

The news comes after one of Ferrari’s chief engineers, David Sanchez, revealed last month that he has left the team ahead of a return to McLaren next year. The departure comes at a difficult time for Ferrari, which hoped to take another step forward this year after returning to the top of the podium in 2022. Charles Leclerc retired from two of the opening three races and the SF23 has yet to finish on the podium. “Honestly speaking inside the track, first of all, the performance at the beginning of the season is not what we want,” said Leclerc. “For me the first three races were a disaster. But I think the last three weeks have been good for a reset. I think it’s good for us to look a little bit more to optimize the package we have. We’ve been working on that. Leclerc retired after an incident on the opening lap of the last Australian Grand Prix. Leclerc claims Ferrari is backing Mekies, who will take responsibility for his move to Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri. “And off the track, of course, there is a restructuring for the team, which is obvious,” said Leclerc. “We had a really good relationship with Laurent, but I think everyone in the team understands that it’s a really good opportunity for Laurent and they can’t let it go.” is more than a person.Fred[Vasseur/Ferrari Team Principal]has things to think about and I’m very confident about the future.I’m really confident.” He left his duties at Alfa Romeo to join Ferrari. Leclerc says getting assurances from Vasseur about the direction of the team has given him more confidence in Ferrari. “Yes, he was very candid about what he wanted to achieve and how he wanted to achieve it,” said Leclerc. “And this has probably given me more confidence than ever before, as much as it’s clearly working. I’m confident about the future.”