Leclerc reflects on a tough race, acknowledging Ferrari fell short at Spa-Francorchamps.
Charles Leclerc confirmed that the race at Spa-Francorchamps was a disappointment for Ferrari, not because the SF-24 was slower than expected, but rather because it trailed behind three other teams in terms of performance, although the Monegasque did manage to stay ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
“What happened was that we simply weren’t fast enough. I felt like we had the fourth fastest car. McLaren and Red Bull were as expected, Mercedes was faster than anticipated,” Leclerc stated.
“And yes, under normal race conditions on a dry track, it’s very difficult to keep them behind on a circuit like this. We did well to keep Max and Lando at bay towards the end, but fourth place on the track was the best we could hope for. We didn’t deserve the podium, even though I ended up on it.”
However, the summary was not positive: “It wasn’t positive, because if it had been a Red Bull ahead, I think the weekend would have been positive. But it was a Mercedes, while we thought we were on par with them, and they had the upper hand. So yes, I don’t consider this result very positive.”
“I think fourth place was the best possible outcome, with two McLarens and a Red Bull ahead. But again, what makes me less happy is that we had two Mercedes and a McLaren in front. We thought we were on par with the Mercedes. So it was worse than expected.”
One concern was the persistence of bouncing that the flat bottom from Hungary was supposed to correct, on a track more likely to exacerbate this effect: “There was more bouncing towards the end of the race, the harder we pushed at high speed, the more problems we had. So, in the last stint, there was a bit more bouncing, but it wasn’t crazy.”
Why Ferrari Opted for Strategic Caution
The lack of information about the hardest tyre compound and starting from pole influenced Ferrari’s cautious approach: “It’s very difficult to know the situation at that moment because when you have so many cars, we were in a position where we were second on the track.”
“When you get overtaken by one car, two cars, three cars, four cars, it becomes very tricky, and you end up taking a lot of risks. Therefore, it was better to align with the alternative strategy.”
“We didn’t even know what the hard tyres were like, as we hadn’t used them before the race. So I don’t think it’s fair to say that we made a mistake at that time, and I understand the team’s viewpoint.”
Leclerc does not believe Ferrari would have achieved the same success using the strategy that Russell employed to finish first: “I felt that the actual pace wasn’t sufficient. And when it’s like that, unfortunately, no matter what you do with the strategy, you’re always going to lose places.”
“And we simply weren’t fast enough. We knew it wasn’t too far off, but I think they had more pace, and they made the one-stop strategy work because Mercedes was very, very strong.”
- You may also like>McLaren Teams Up with Norris to Boost Race Starts
- Following us on>Facebook and>Twitter
Spa-Francorchamps: Leclerc Concedes Podium Undeserved Spa-Francorchamps: Leclerc Concedes Podium Undeserved
