Has Ferrari thrown in the towel as Charles Leclerc predicts another difficult season?

Ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix 2021, Charles Leclerc has insisted that Ferrari is unlikely to rebound quickly from its poor campaign in 2020. The Prancing Horse finished the 2020 season in a disappointing sixth place in the Constructor's Standings, their worst season in 40 years. With Charles Leclerc already pessimistic, has Ferrari thrown in the towel even before the start of the new season?

Charles Leclerc predicts another difficult season for Ferrari

Having managed only two podium finishes all of last season, Charles Leclerc has predicted that 2021 will be another difficult season for Ferrari. The Monegasque driver said, "I know that, being realistic, it’s going to be a very difficult season." Despite acknowledging the difficulty, Leclerc has attempted to raise optimism amongst Ferrari fans by highlighting that he will deliver his best performances irrespective of the pace of the car.

"For me, if I’ve got a car where I feel like sixth is the best place we can do – I’m not saying it’s the case for this year it’s just an example – but if sixth is the best I can do, I’m extremely motivated to try and do third, second or first. So whatever we expect from us, I’m always finding the motivation to try to exceed those expectations, and that’s the way I will approach the season," added Leclerc. With minimal changes permitted to the cars for the F1 2021 season, Ferrari are unlikely to perform significantly better than the previous season.

Bahrain Grand Prix 2021 schedule

Friday, March 26

Free Practice 1: 17:00 - 18:00 IST 

Free Practice 2: 20:30 - 21:30 IST

Saturday, March 27

Free Practice 3: 17:30 - 18:30 IST

Qualifying: 20:30 - 21:30 IST

Sunday, March 28

Race: 20:30 - 22:30 IST

How to watch Bahrain Grand Prix live in India?

In India, the Bahrain Grand Prix will be shown live on the Star Sports Network. The Bahrain Grand Prix live stream will be available on Disney+ Hotstar VIP. Live standings and updates of the race can be found on the social media of F1 and the respected teams.

F1 2021 schedule

The F1 2021 schedule has the most number of races (23) in an F1 season. After the Bahrain Grand Prix, the action moves to the Italian (16-18 April) and the Portuguese Grand Prix (30 April-2 May). Fans can view the entire F1 2021 schedule on the official Formula 1 page.