Charles Leclerc: No miracles from Ferrari after qualifying horror show

Belgian Grand Prix

Leclerc: No miracles from Ferrari after qualifying horror show

Leclerc and Vettel will start 13th and 14th in Belgium

Sam Hall

Saturday 29 August 2020 16:58 Updated: 17:33

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Charles Leclerc has warned Ferrari fans not to expect any "miracles" in the Belgian Grand Prix following a horrific qualifying session.

Ferrari locked out the front row at Spa Francorchamps in 2019, but 12 months on Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel will start 13th and 14th respectively, with the duo fortunate to have even escaped Q1.

Searching for answers, Leclerc explained: “To be honest it is very difficult to find an explanation. It’s a big step back compared to the others, so we need to find the main issue to try and address it.

“It’s not a good day but it’s like this at the moment. We need to keep working very hard.

“I think everyone in the team needs to keep their heads up even though it is very difficult in tough times like this.

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"I can understand there are fans at home who are very disappointed. It is understandable, but as drivers, we will try to make the best race possible tomorrow even though we can’t expect any miracles.”

Almost three-tenths of a second separated Leclerc from a Q3 place, while for Vettel the gap to 10th-placed Lando Norris at the end of Q2 was half a second.

“It is the true picture," said Vettel. "It is what the car can do around here today so obviously we tried everything we could and there was a lot of effort going in from last night to today trying to make things better.

“I think we did [improve] a little bit but obviously we are not where we want to be but this is not the first race and the first qualifying where this has been the case.”

He added: “We try to do our best. This is obviously the car that we have and the car that we know now for the whole season so far. So it is not a surprise today.”

Before you go...

Hamilton dedicates stunning pole lap to Black Panther star

Hamilton claims 93rd F1 pole with new Spa track record; both Ferraris suffer Q2 exit