Ferrari’s Vasseur expresses confidence in Leclerc’s ability to overcome recent qualifying challenges.
Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur has backed Charles Leclerc to overcome his qualifying struggles that have marred his results in recent races.
The Monégasque driver missed a golden opportunity in Australia by qualifying fifth, three places behind his teammate and eventual race winner Carlos Sainz.
These misfortunes continued at Suzuka last weekend as Leclerc lost a podium to Sainz, who started four places higher on the grid.
Unlike in Melbourne, where he voiced dissatisfaction with his car’s balance, Leclerc took the blame for his relative lack of pace in Japan.
However, Vasseur is not concerned about Leclerc’s issues.
“You don’t have to draw a conclusion based solely on the standings. I think where we slightly missed the weekend with Charles was the first lap of Q1 because he didn’t deliver a mega lap.”
“We had to put on a second set of tires because we were a bit at risk. Then, you go into Q3, and you only have one set.”
“You’re a bit behind because if you make a mistake, you’re beaten. We didn’t take the right approach in qualifying.”
“Now, I am convinced that Charles is a competitor. He is good in qualifications, on a lap, and he will be back soon.”
After the race, Leclerc admitted he would spend the break before China analyzing where he struggles to extract pace from his SF-24 car on a single lap.
“He is aware that he didn’t perform well in qualifying, that you can’t be satisfied when your teammate is 4th and you’re 8th,” Vasseur continued.
“But overall, we need to deeply review the qualifications, the session’s progression. We missed Q1 and then ended up at the end with only one set of tires in Q3, finishing a tenth off the second group.”
“We will have two qualifying sessions in China with the Sprint. Two opportunities to do good work.”
Vasseur Backs Leclerc to Beat Quali Woes. Vasseur Backs Leclerc to Beat Quali Woes
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