Leclerc pours cold water on pecking order reset ahead of Miami GP

The Ferrari driver, who has previously pointed out areas where the Scuderia must improve to close the gap to front-runners Mercedes, expressed scepticism about any major shake-up in the pecking order in Miami. Speaking to GPblog, among others, Leclerc suggested that while gaps between teams may narrow, a significant change in the overall hierarchy is unlikely.

“It’s going to be pretty unusual to see so many upgrades on so many different teams in a season’s regulations, also for the way the season has been with the five-week break. So I’m pretty sure most people will have kind of new cars here. Whether it will change significantly the pecking order that we have seen since the beginning of the year, I doubt it. We might see fewer or more gaps between some teams. But I don’t know,” Leclerc said.

Narrowing his thoughts to Ferrari’s prospects, the Monegasque driver noted that the battle with McLaren is expected to remain tight, while closing the gap to Mercedes could prove a tougher task.

Formula 1 was forced into a five-week hiatus due to rising tensions in the Middle East. The lengthy break has since given teams additional development time, with expectations that several could bring significant performance gains to Miami.

Earlier, Max Verstappen aired his thoughts on the tweaks made by the FIA to the regulations ahead of the Miami Grand Prix. The Dutch driver, who has not held back on his perceived flaws of the regulations, highlighted what he considers to be the sole positive of the changes.

Verstappen, however, noted how the regulations remain far from what drivers desire, before admitting how complicated implementing such changes could prove.

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