Charles Leclerc addresses the possibility of a title battle against Lando Norris and Max Verstappen with 6 races left in 2024

Charles Leclerc has addressed the possibility of fighting Lando Norris and Max Verstappen for the title in 2024. He feels that it's highly unlikely he can be a factor. However, the second half of the season has seen Ferrari become a factor for race wins.

The Italian team had Charles Leclerc finish the race in Zandvoort on the podium, followed by the Monza race that Leclerc won. Since then, Ferrari has been strong in the next two races in Singapore and Baku.

Alongside McLaren, Ferrari has been challenging the British team at the front. Max Verstappen still leads the championship at 331 points, while Lando Norris is in 2nd position with 279. Leclerc is a somewhat distant third at 245 points right now, which keeps him in the shooting range if things go wrong at the front but not too close.

Leclerc himself was quite pragmatic when it came to suggestions that he could be a player in the title battle. Dismissing these suggestions, the Ferrari driver said that one had to be cautious when setting these expectations because the last few tracks suited the car. Talking to the media, including Racingnews365, Leclerc said,

There needs to be a little bit of luck involved on our side, because even if we do really well until the end of the season, it is going to be difficult to go and take the drivers' title,"

He added,

"But I am not really thinking about it now, I'm just trying to focus race-by-race and the worst thing we can do at this moment is to have wrong expectations going forward. We have gone through some very specific tracks since Monza, which has made us look particularly good, and I hope that picture remains [after Singapore]."

Charles Leclerc expects McLaren and Red Bull to get back to "their normal performance levels"

While tracks like Monza, Singapore, and Baku tend not to challenge the cars' efficiency in the fast-speed sections, there would be a few tracks like Austin where that could be tested. Leclerc feels that this is one area where teams like Red Bull and McLaren will once again re-assert themselves on the field. He said,

"However, I expect McLaren and Red Bull to get back to their normal level of performance, McLaren never left it, but it is still the car to beat and Red Bull will come back and it will make our life a bit more difficult."

He added,

"We need to be good at having the right expectations going into weekends because otherwise it can push you to try and find performance that is not in the car, but we are working well and the development is going well."

In 2024, Charles Leclerc fighting for the title is probably a step too far. The driver is far behind Max Verstappen in terms of points, to be a factor. However, there are certainly going to be races this season where the Ferrari driver will be a strong contender to pick up a win or two.