Leclerc concerned 'tyre-destroying' Ferrari could scupper British GP hopes

Charles Leclerc is hoping his bid for a surprise British Grand Prix result is not undermined by excessive tyre wear around Silverstone.

Neither Leclerc nor team-mate Sebastian Vettel were expected to reach qualifying's top-10 shoot-out given the power-sensitive nature of the circuit.

Yet Leclerc qualified fourth behind Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, as well as Red Bull's Max Verstappen, notably on the medium-compound tyre, while Vettel lines up 10th.

The concern for Leclerc, however, is the rate at which the SF1000 eats through Pirelli's rubber.

"I'm extremely happy about today," said Leclerc. "P4! I didn't expect to be on P4 for tomorrow's race, and especially not starting with mediums, I mean we tried it, but we were not very confident about making it.

"To make it work was very nice and it is looking good for the race tomorrow because our race pace...we are struggling. I think we have the pace but we are destroying the tyres very quickly compared to the others so starting on the mediums will help us massively."

For Vettel, whose final lap time was deleted for exceeding track limits, it was another difficult day in which he encountered further pedal issues in FP3 after they had been replaced in FP2, while he also sat out first practice due to a minor problem with the intercooler system.

"I struggled to find the rhythm," said Vettel. "The car is not too bad but it didn't fit me today so struggling.

"Yesterday, obviously there were very little laps, and [again] this morning, to get into the rhythm. Nevertheless, I will try everything I can tomorrow and see what we can get.

"Looking ahead, starting on the soft tyre is not ideal, but it is what it is so we have to try and make the most of it."

Before you go...

Verstappen in with a "fighting chance" of causing BritishGP shock

Bottas beaten by "near to perfection" from Hamilton

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

Lewis Hamilton's team-mate says new regulations have blunted his biggest weapon

• 47 minutes ago

Aston Martin and Adrian Newey given massive F1 lifeline after terrible 2026 start

• 1 hour ago

Lewis Hamilton FINALLY broke F1 podium curse, and Ferrari kit is already selling out

• 2 hours ago

'Sherlock Holmes' - Lewis Hamilton given new nickname by Toto Wolff

• 3 hours ago

Aston Martin F1 star says ‘NO’ to everything in painful nine-word interview at Chinese Grand Prix

• Today 09:57

Lewis Hamilton podium isn't to be celebrated as Ferrari should be worried

• Today 09:11