Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc will be starting the Chinese GP from the third row on the grid after qualifying in P6.
Leclerc had a difficult start to the weekend after qualifying P4 for the Sprint, two-tenths adrift from teammate Lewis Hamilton, who scored pole.
During the Sprint, P4 on the grid turned into P5 on the finish line for the 27-year-old.
Following the Sprint, Ferrari made some adjustments to the Monegasque’s car, bringing his set-up closer to Hamilton’s.
With the new set-up, Leclerc reduced his teammate’s gap to under a tenth in Qualifying for the 2025 Chinese GP, ending up just behind Hamilton in P6.
The Ferrari duo will start Sunday’s race from the third row on the grid.
Qualifying performance
Speaking to the media after the session, Leclerc noted that he extracted everything he could from his Ferrari on a track he “always struggled” on.
“Yes, there wasn’t anything more. I mean, it’s a bit frustrating because obviously yesterday I wasn’t really on it, and there was the potential at that moment for pole.
“Today I was more on it, considering it’s a track where I have always struggled.
“I did the best out of what was capable from my side today.
“We are just not fast enough today.”
While the gap to his teammate was reduced, the gap to the front, particularly McLaren, was three-tenths.
A gap that was anticipated by the Ferrari driver after the Australian GP.
“I felt after Australia that if we had put every bit together in quali, we would be three-tenths off.
“Today we put every bit together, and we are three-tenths off, and I’ll say this is the gap that there is between the McLaren and ourselves again.”
Set-up changes after the Sprint race
Leclerc addressed the changes made on his side of the garage, explaining that they were mostly targeted to increase his comfort levels.
The task was accomplished, however, the Ferrari was still not quick enough to place higher up the grid.
“Yes, I did, mostly to make myself a bit more comfortable with the car, and I felt more comfortable.
“It was easier to put everything together, but we are just not fast enough.”
Ferrari deficits
Compared to the front-runners, Ferrari lacks “a bit everywhere”, says the eight-time GP winner.
“Honestly, it’s a bit everywhere. I haven’t watched the data yet. There was [turns] one, two, three that was standing out again.
“I think yesterday on Lando’s lap that he didn’t finish. I don’t know how it looks like today, but it felt a bit everywhere.”
He added that qualifying for the Chinese GP indicated Ferrari’s current position in the pecking order.
“I feel like this session this afternoon is a bit more representative of where we stand compared to the others.
“So realistically there’s some work to be done.”
Ferrari overhauled its car concept over the winter, making the switch to a pullrod front suspension.
The new concept works, though Leclerc doubts that Ferrari has already unleashed the full potential of the SF-25.
“I think, honestly, the development numbers that we were expecting and that we have seen are really good numbers.
“So, if I have to guess now, I will probably guess that we are not using the potential of the car.
“However, a day like today, especially qualifying, it feels like we are in the right spot.
“I guess we’ll have to wait a bit more races and try to understand if there’s another window of the car that we haven’t discovered yet, where we can extract more performance.
“But still some work to do.
“It’s normal at this point of the season, but we cannot afford to lose too many races at this point in time.”
Leclerc on Hamilton
The veteran Ferrari Driver was also full of praise for his new teammate, noting that he wasn’t surprised, as Hamilton had already shown great pace during testing.
“I had no doubt.
“He was very, very quick already in testing, and you could feel that he was at ease with it.
“He’s so fast, so it’s not really a surprise.”
Leclerc also notes how important Hamilton’s win was for Ferrari after a difficult season-opener in Australia.
“Of course, of course it’s important.
“It’s important for the team.
“It’s important for Lewis as well, joining the team and straight away starting on a strong note is really good.
“On my side, it motivates me to do better and to take those opportunities myself, but he did a better job, so fair play, nothing to say.
“However, I feel like the others did a big step from yesterday to today.”
Expectations for the Chinese GP
Looking ahead to Sunday’s GP, Leclerc cautions that Hamilton’s pace during the Chinese GP Sprint Race might not be indicative of the race.
There are differences between driving in clean air up front and the dirtier air encountered by those trailing behind.
“This, I will be careful with that.
“I feel like obviously dirty and free air makes a huge differences with these cars.
“Lewis is incredible in the race. And obviously I always look at his data in order to learn something out of it. But in conditions like this, it’s a bit more difficult.
“It’s difficult to understand where I stand in a stint so different.”
The Ferrari driver was running in P5 during the sprint, but showed good pace towards the end of it as he applied big pressure on George Russell.
The positive trend could be viewed as a positive trend in terms of tyre degradation in the race.
“Yeah, that’s a positive sign.
“Because obviously, especially with the longer stints tomorrow and a longer race, then we can hopefully use our advantage with the tyre degradation.
“But with the dirty air, as I experienced this morning, it’s very, very, very difficult to make a pass on track.
“So, it’s going to be a bit difficult to recover on track.
“But with strategy, if we manage to put ourselves in the right place at the right time, not having too much dirty air, I feel like we might surprise ourselves.”
Due to this weekend’s Sprint format, none of the teams ran the hard tyre so far. Despite the lack of data, the Monegasque is optimistic about using the compound for the race.
“Yeah, it is a big unknown.
“But it looks like a strong tyre. Yeah, I’m quite positive.”
