Ferrari chairman buoyed by early success, but 'season has just begun'

Ferrari chairman John Elkann says the Scuderia's early success in 2022 is a validation of the team's hard work, but the executive warned there's a long road ahead for the Italian outfit this season.

After years of underperformance, Ferrari took advantage of the introduction of F1's new technical rules to regroup in Maranello and to rekindle its strengths to design and develop a winning package for 2022.

So far, Ferrari's massive efforts are paying solid dividends, with Charles Leclerc winning two out of the first three races of the season and leading the Drivers' championship, while the Scuderia's F1-75 has established itself as the class of the field in terms of both performance and reliability.

"We said two years ago that we had to work hard to get back to being competitive and the 2022 championship has got off to a truly thrilling start," Elkann said, speaking at Ferrari's annual shareholder meeting.

"Like all our tifosi around the world, I am delighted we are competing at the highest level."

But Elkann made clear that the championship is in its early days and the Scuderia cannot afford to let up its efforts on its long and winding road to a potential world title.

"That said, we know the season has just begun and in Formula 1 you are always surrounded by fierce competitors," he added.

"We must work tirelessly as a team to optimise every aspect of our performance. That is the spirit and approach I look forward to seeing at Imola and as the season progresses."

• Read also: Ferrari says Imola 'not the right place' for upgrades

Leclerc's success and lead in the championship will ensure the Monegasque receives overwhelming support in next week's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, a home race of sorts for the Scuderia.

"Oh yeah, I can imagine it," said Leclerc after his win last weekend in Australia. "But I don't want to think about it too much because it's still very early in the season.

"Obviously, it's good to be in the lead of the championship. Thirty-four points is always good to take wherever you are in the calendar, but I don't want to focus too much on the championship for now.

"Italy will be incredible, but we need to approach the race weekend just like we approached the first three weekends. I think it's extremely important not to put on ourselves extra pressure and not try to overdo things.

"We are working as a team extremely well since the beginning of the season and we just need to keep doing our job, just like we did in the first three weekends."

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