Leclerc: Ferrari deficit in title race 'not as bad as it looks'

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Ferrari's Charles Leclerc says his team's shortfall in championship points relative to Mercedes isn't a fair reflection of the Scuderia's performance level.

Ferrari heads into the Spanish Grand Prix weekend 74 points behind its arch rival in the Constructors' standings, a deficit the Italian outfit owes to Mercedes' flawless execution since the start of the season and to its own inability to extract the most of its SF90 package, not to mention Leclerc's blunder in qualifying in Baku.

"I don’t think it is as bad as the championship looks," Leclerc said.

"We have had opportunities, once I did a mistake, on the other one we had an issue that cost us a better result.

"I think overall the performance is there, we just need to try and put everything together, in most of the occasions to be using our full potential.

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"I don’t think there has been a drop in performance from Barcelona until now.

"I think the only weakness at the moment is we need to try and understand the car a bit more and in which optimal conditions it works and try and put it there as much as we can."

Ferrari was seen as being in a class of its own during pre-season testing, but while its 2019 contender undeniably had the edge in Barcelona, Leclerc denied its advantage over Mercedes W10 was significant.

"I think Mercedes were not that far [behind] even in testing in Barcelona," added the Monegasque.

"The last day [was] the only day where they actually pushed a little bit and in the last laps they did a very similar lap time to ours.

"So I don’t think they were ever very far away, and we don’t even know how much they pushed in the last day of testing. It’s not right to say that we were a lot for ahead after testing."

If it is to remain on target for the title this season, Ferrari cannot afford to spoil its chances in Spain where Leclerc is banking on a new spec-2 engine and updates to turnaround the Scdueria's fortunes.

"Hopefully the improvements we’ve brought here put us a step forward and then we’ll see for the rest of the season.

"Normally Barcelona is quite representative track for the performance of the car so hopefully we’re strong here."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.