Leclerc: Ferrari expect to struggle after Spa, Monza wins

Charles Leclerc dampened any talk of a late-season title surge after winning the Belgian and Italian Grands Prix, with upcoming tracks on the Formula 1 calendar unlikely to suit Ferrari's car.

With Spa-Francorchamps and Monza playing into the hands of the SF90's mighty straight-line speed, Leclerc secured consecutive wins from pole to add a silver lining to an otherwise dismal 2019 so far for the Scuderia.

The Singapore GP is next on the schedule, a slow, twisty challenge, and Ferrari will likely face a challenge to keep pace with Mercedes and potentially Red Bull too.

Leclerc has climbed above Sebastian Vettel in the standings as a result of his back-to-back wins, but is unsure how much more progress he can make.

"We need to stay realistic," Leclerc said. "I think we expected that Spa and Monza would be very good races for our car but we also know that the next few races will be a lot more difficult for our car.

"So, we need to be realistic and, yeah, it's not going to be easy. I think especially Singapore.

"I think it will be a nice surprise if we are better than what we expect, but we expect to struggle there. We'll see in two weeks.

"To challenge Lewis and Valtteri [in the championship] will be very difficult because, as I said, I don't think we will be as competitive as we've been in Spa and Monza but let's see, obviously.

"I don't know if I will keep the position ahead of Seb in the drivers' championship.

"I think we need to work together and to try and have the best performance for the team.

"He wants to beat me, I want to beat him as much as he does but we'll see at the end of the championship. I can't know [what will happen]."

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