Ferrari has improved the balance of its car, claims Leclerc

On the back of a sensational double victory at the United States Grand Prix, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has revealed that the Scuderia has achieved great improvements with the balance of its car.

Ferrari locked out the second row on the grid for the United States Grand Prix, with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc setting the third and fourth-quickest lap in Saturday's qualifying session.

When the lights went green, both Ferraris had a great start from the second row, but Leclerc had the track position on the inside when the leading duo of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen ran wide. Although an early safety car meant that Leclerc had to defend hard from Verstappen at the restart, he was faultless as he disappeared up the track to take his third win of the year.

His team-mate Carlos Sainz complained about technical issues in the early stages of the race, but Ferrari managed to cure the problem with a tweak to the setting. The Spaniard managed to undercut Verstappen in the pit stops, and then was also able to pull away for to Ferrari’s second 1-2 of the season.

Asked about Ferrari's improvements, the Monegasque driver has revealed that the Maranello-based outfit has achieved significant improvements to the balance of its car, but he also stressed that a well-balanced car does not necessary translate into lap times.

"Obviously, we are getting better and better. I think last year was a very difficult year. Two years ago, we were in a better place in terms of balance. But now we are getting back to this kind of balance.

"But the balance doesn't mean much. I mean, you can have a very competitive car and a very difficult car to drive. And at the end, what matters is the lap time. It's not how good I feel in the car. Sometimes the two goes together, sometimes they don't. Sometimes a car feels very, very difficult to drive.

"However, if it feels better than others and that you are faster, then it's good enough. The balance is so much better than a year ago. I think we've been struggling in 2023 with the balance of the car. We've done quite a lot of work on that, and it definitely feels like a big step forward compared to last year. But we are slowly going in the right direction and trying to keep improving, obviously," Leclerc noted.