Ferrari’s upgrades are “hyped up a lot,” claims Leclerc

Despite a heavily-upgraded rear suspension, Charles Leclerc has played down the significance of Ferrari’s developments, claiming that the Scuderia’s upgrades are “hyped up a lot”.

Having struggled to match the performance of the McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen all through the weekend, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc put in a brilliant effort to secure third place on the grid for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix.

Although he confirmed that the latest upgrade was a step in the right direction, the Monegasque was quick to temper the expectations from the revised rear suspension.

“I think, as always, and especially for our team, everything is hyped up a lot. Yes, it's an upgrade and it's a step in the right direction, but we are still speaking about very fine differences of a whole lap.

“So it feels a little bit different and it's going in the right direction and again, that's thanks to the hard work that the whole team has done back at the factory.

“Unfortunately for us, McLaren has also brought a few things this weekend and seem to have done a small step in the right direction as well, so it's very difficult to close the gap. But I think we are doing a good job as a team and we just need to keep working.”

Pressed on to comment on the current pecking order, Leclerc said: “I think it's definitely going in the right direction once again as I was saying. However, compared to the McLaren, I think we are probably on average three or four tenths behind in qualifying.

“We’ll do a step forward. I don't think though that we'll find those three or four tenths in that upgrade. But it will help us to get closer.

“The more we use it, the more we'll be able to maximize this and there'll be some more potential to gain. But no, I don't think it's enough to be able to challenge the McLaren consistently from now on.”