After Carlos Sainz failed to make an appearance in the final segment, hopes of the Tifosi rested on Charles Leclerc as he continued to wrestle the unruly SF-24 in Q3. However, the best he could extract from the car was a lap time of 1:10:582, leaving him just over nine tenths behind pole man Lando Norris in a tricky Dutch Grand Prix qualifying session. Facing the media, the Monégasque driver expressed caution about their prospects of securing a podium starting from sixth on the grid.
When asked if his starting position reflected the reality of where Ferrari is in terms of performance, Leclerc admitted that they are in an unfortunate situation. Despite his final lap in Q3 being satisfactory, a deficit of nine tenths on a short track like Zandvoort was a damning verdict on Ferrari’s recent upgrades.
“Unfortunately, it is. I mean, the lap was good and we are nine tenths off unfortunately on such a short track. It’s a lot.”
Nonetheless, Leclerc assured that the team is aware of their shortcomings and that they are working diligently to straighten out the weaknesses the car currently displays. While he added that he wasn’t thrilled to reiterate his position on Ferrari’s recent lack of performance, the 26-year-old appeared optimistic that the upcoming upgrades would help them recover lost ground.
“It’s too much. But yeah, as a team we are aware that we are lacking performance; we are working flat out. Unfortunately, I repeated myself too much in the last few months but that’s the reality we are in at the moment and we are doing absolutely everything to close that gap as soon as possible. Hopefully the upgrades that we’ll bring in the car, hopefully as soon as possible, will help us to close the gap.”
Stating that the Zandvoort circuit doesn’t cater to their car’s strengths, Leclerc estimated that the deficit won’t be this significant on other tracks that favour the SF-24 more. He sounded particularly hopeful that Ferrari would find themselves on an upward trajectory from their home race onwards next week.
“When I see a gap like today, 9 tenths, it’s a lot and I’m not so sure we have that until the end of the season but let’s wait and see. I also think that a track like this doesn’t fit our car and the gap is probably bigger than what we will see on other tracks with the same car.
“So today, we have struggled particularly, but I hope that from Monza onwards we will be in a better place.”
Regarding their struggles at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix and whether a comparison would help them gauge their relative progress, Leclerc admitted that the compromises they had made at Zandvoort last year enabled them to optimise the car later in the year. Although they have gained a better understanding of the car owing to the experiments they conducted before the summer break, they have yet to find a quick fix this time around. Regardless, the six-time race winner announced that they expect to turn things around in the next few races.
“Last year we learnt a huge amount in Zandvoort and we kind of compromised a bit Zandvoort for later on in the season. This process we went through four or five races ago and it helped us to grow and to understand a lot about the car. Unfortunately we don’t have the quick fix that we had to last year’s issues so it will take a bit more time.
“However, it shouldn’t take too long either and hopefully in the next few races we see some improvements.”
Leclerc also offered his opinion on the issue of bouncing and whether this particular problem was holding Ferrari back in terms of performance. He disclosed that although the bouncing has been contained, they have been unable to optimise the car to its fullest. The Monégasque, however, refused to label the limitation as a legacy of the Barcelona upgrades and claimed that the entire paddock was encountering the issue to a lesser or greater degree.
“Let’s say we don’t have much bouncing at the moment but let’s also say that we maybe cannot optimise the car the way we want for now but yeah hopefully this will be fixed soon.
“I wouldn’t say so because we had a small modification after Spain which helped that. So I think it’s a limitation for everybody in the paddock. Some have it a lot less, some others a bit more. For us for now we have it a bit more and we’ve got to fix that.”
With overtakes being considerably difficult to execute on a circuit like Zandvoort, Leclerc confessed that a better result than a sixth-place finish might not be on the cards. Even so, he clarified that he is ready to jump at the opportunity should it arise tomorrow.
“The hopes are not so high. I think P6 is the best we can do on a weekend like this. However, if there’s the opportunity to do so I’ll try and take it.”
