Charles Leclerc claims Ferrari to continue ‘paying the price’ at tracks like Hungarian GP
Charles Leclerc admitted Ferrari would continue to struggle in upcoming tracks similar to the Hungaroring.
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Charles Leclerc and SF-24 (via IMAGO)
The 2024 Hungarian GP was another race where Ferrari’s performance was not noticeable as their rivals were more competitive fighting for the podium. Charles Leclerc managed to finish sixth in the grid on Saturdays Qualifying sessions. However, teammate Carlos Sainz finished fourth, who was four-and-half-tenths down pole sitter Lando Norris. Leclerc believed the car has pace but it’s not sufficient for the Qualifying.
Charles Leclerc highlighted the main issue of Ferrari’s performance at the Hungarian GP was their lack of pace compared to their rivals. He mentioned that during the Qualifying sessions driver’s aim to set the fastest lap to secure top position for the race. However, Ferrari was not as fast as the top teams. Because of this lack of speed they had a big disadvantage, especially on track like the Hungaroring, where overtaking is difficult.
Looking at the overall picture, we are still lacking a lot of qualifying pace compared to our main competitors, and so on tracks like this, we will pay the price.Charles Leclerc said, as reported by RacingNews365
Charles Leclerc believed that Ferrari had a strong car at the Hungarian GP but was limited by their poor starting position. He explained that while the car performed well, starting back on the grid made it difficult to achieve a better result. Leclerc mentioned, Qualifying was crucial because it sets the starting positions for the race . Starting from a lower position meant he had to overtake many others, which was particularly challenging on tracks like the Hungaroring where overtaking is tough. Therefore, the Monegasque reckoned they couldn’t have done much more than achieve the result they had.
So I think we had a strong car, but don't think we could have done much more considering our starting position.Charles Leclerc stated.
Charles Leclerc claims Belgium GP will be a real test for Ferrari
Charles Leclerc mentioned that the upcoming Belgium GP will be a major challenge for Ferrari. He mentioned that Spa will be an ultimate test for the problems they’ve been facing with the car. The 26-year-old stated, Spa is known for its high speed corners and long straights which is a very demanding circuit. This can highlight Ferrari’s issues like poor car handling or insufficient speed. Leclerc is optimistic they can identify and resolve problems and make improvements with further upgrades.
Spa is going to be a real test for us because it is probably the track where I expect our issues to be most visible.Charles Leclerc expressed.
Leclerc mentioned that in Belgium it would be visible whether Ferrari had made any progress in fixing their car’s problem. The 26-year-old assessed whether they had made any progress based on the car’s performance during the race. If the upgrades had helped, it should have been visible in their performance. If the car still faced the same issues, it would have confirmed that there’s lot of work needed to improve.
We will see if we have the confirmation that there is a lot of work to do before we get our issues fixed and whether the upgrades of this weekend helped us to make a step forward.Charles Leclerc added.
Certainly, Charles Leclerc noted that the Belgium GP would reveal if Ferrari had improved their car’s performance and recent upgrades. This race would highlight the true potential SF-24 holds after the upgrades. Fans hope that the Belgian GP will be a successful event for Ferrari and Charles Leclerc. They are eager to see Ferrari drivers secure pole positions once again.
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Gaurang Kadam
(535 Articles Published)