Red Bull exposed Ferrari's 'bigger weaknesses' - Charles Leclerc

Max and Charles battle in Jeddah — Photo: © LAT Images

Charles Leclerc

Red Bull exposed Ferrari's 'bigger weaknesses' - Leclerc

The Ferrari was lack in straight-line speed to Red Bull

Ian Parkes & Topher Smith

Tuesday 29 March 2022 16:25 Updated: 16:32

Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari's weaknesses became "much bigger" when battling Max Verstappen's Red Bull for victory in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The Monégasque was able to hold off Verstappen for a number of laps before the Red Bull's pace finally gave the reigning world champion the breakthrough late on at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

The track features three consecutive DRS zones through the middle and final sectors, allowing the following driver to stay close to the lead car and set up an overtake wherever is best suited to an individual.

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On where Ferrari's deficit to Red Bull came from during the battle with Verstappen, Leclerc explained: "I think the point where we struggled the most is whenever Max got the DRS basically because our weaknesses were just bigger, the straight-line speed difference was much bigger.

"We were still quick in the corners, but not enough to have that margin to cover. So from that moment onwards, it was a bit more difficult for us."

Ferrari did "nothing wrong" with tyre management

Drivers were able to one-stop despite the high loads put through the tyres at high speed which was a surprise given early degradation estimates from Friday running.

Asked if degradation had played a role in missing out on securing two wins from two races, Leclerc replied: "For the tyre management, I don't think we did anything wrong, there.

"Yeah, I don't think it is the reason why we lost a win.

"They were consistent, but the first run was a bit more difficult. I think we did a great job by managing those mediums because it wasn’t easy following Checo [Perez].

"But towards the end, we actually had quite a good pace on those mediums. Then on the hard, it felt nice whenever I had a little bit of margin I felt like I could keep the gap to Max."