F1 News: Charles Leclerc pinpoints where Ferrari LOST victory chance in Saudi GP

Charles Leclerc, Bahrain GP, Ferrari, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Leclerc pinpoints where Ferrari LOST victory chance in Saudi GP

Charles Leclerc knows where Ferrari lost the opportunity to take victory in Jeddah

Originally written by Shay Rogers. This version is a translation.

Wednesday 13 March 2024 20:00

Charles Leclerc has revealed where he believes Ferrari could have caused a sensational shock by defeating Red Bull at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The driver from Monaco finished third after a lonely race, having hardly been able to challenge the front pair of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

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Both Red Bull drivers were too quick for him to catch as they recorded their second one-two finish of the season.

It all could have been very different if Leclerc was ahead of both Verstappen and his team-mate Sergio Perez in the first instance, but after falling behind, he was never able to close the gap again.

Charles Leclerc after Saudi GP qualifying

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“The DRS, I don't think that's where we are lacking at the moment,” he said. “But of course we'll have a further analysis after this weekend to understand exactly what are still our weaknesses and try to update them since last race.

“However, I don't think tyre degradation was a thing. It was more about tyre warm-up and we struggled a bit more to bring them to the right temperature in order to push.

“This made it also a bit more difficult because I had to overtake cars during my warm-up, and that was a bit trickier for us than for them.

“That's where they pulled the gap, which then stayed more or less stable towards the end, but that was too late for us to put them under any pressure.”

The approaching European leg of the season should provide the Maranello based outfit with an opportunity to upgrade and develop their car.

That doesn’t mean that Red Bull will be resting on their laurels either, but they are well poised to challenge across the next few months at tracks that suit their package much more than either Bahrain or Jeddah did.

Red Bull Max Verstappen Ferrari Charles Leclerc Sergio Perez Saudi Arabian Grand Prix