"It’s not our best track"- Charles Leclerc expects 2022 F1 Italian GP to be 'a bit more difficult' than Dutch GP

Charles Leclerc expressed his concerns regarding the Italian Grand Prix at Monza this year during the post-race interview at Zandvoort. The Monégasque is worried about other teams catching up with Ferrari and how the Monza track could affect the race for the Maranello-based outfit. Red Bull has shown off its pace in straights, making life difficult for other teams. The Monza track is mostly straightline and could be a disadvantage for Ferrari.

Charles Leclerc in his post-race interview at Zandvoort :

“On paper, [Monza], it’s not our best track, unfortunately. But anyway, I’m really looking forward to going there. We always have a massive amount of support. And for that, I’m really looking forward to it. But I think the performance on paper will be a bit more difficult than this weekend, unfortunately.”

Even on a track like Zandvoort, which has virtually no straights, Ferrari performed poorly compared to Max Verstappen, who won the race without any hassle. This is a warning to "The Prancing Horse" that other teams are catching up, and it could threaten the Italian GP.

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Charles Leclerc feels that Ferrari could be in threat from both Mercedes & Red Bull at Monza

Leclerc acknowledged the recent upgrades installed by Mercedes which have helped them gain back their speed. The Dutch GP could have gone in the hands of George Russell & Lewis Hamilton, but a wrong strategy saw Leclerc overtake Hamilton.

“I think everyone is obviously improving, but in the last races, we’ve been struggling a bit more in race pace. Now Mercedes is also in the fight, and they are very quick. "

Ferrari's last win at Monza was back in 2019 with Charles Leclerc, and since then, the team has been trying hard to get a win at Monza or Imola. This year though, the car is competitive, but the poor strategy implication has been Ferrari's biggest problem. This is a big reason why they have Mercedes as a threat, and Red Bull are too far to touch.

Although Charles Leclerc is a contender for the World Championship, in reality, he's way too far from Verstappen to win it, and most of the blame is put up on the team by the analysts and fans.

If Ferrari manages to pull off the perfect strategy, it could taste victory after three years on home soil. There has also been news about Lewis Hamilton starting the race from the back of the grid due to power unit changes. This could give Ferrari an opportunity to grab that long-awaited home win. However, this would ultimately depend on how well the team executes its plans.