One of the top five drivers in the 2024 championship isn’t feeling especially ‘comfortable’ behind the wheel right now, according to Lawrence Barretto.
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen sits four points clear of Ferrari star Charles Leclerc at the top of the table heading to this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Speaking on F1TV’s Weekend Warm-Up show, Barretto said one of this year’s frontrunners is still struggling to get to grips with their car.
Verstappen won the first two races in dominant fashion but then had to retire last time out in Australia because of a brake issue.
Leclerc, meanwhile, is the only driver to finish in the top four at each of the first three races, scoring podiums in the last two.
He did, however, miss out on the race win in Melbourne as teammate Carlos Sainz, who missed the race in Saudi Arabia through illness, led home a Ferrari one-two.
Sergio Perez sits in between the Prancing Horse duo after runner-up finishes in Bahrain and Jeddah.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri (fifth) is the highest-ranking driver yet to bag a podium this year.
Lawrence Barretto says Charles Leclerc is lacking confidence in his Ferrari
According to Barretto, Leclerc doesn’t yet feel like he’s completely on top of the SF-24 despite his strong results so far.
He still needs to work on understanding his new machinery so he can optimise the set-up.
While Sainz has adjusted seamlessly, we may have to wait to see the best version of Leclerc.
Barreto said: “Charles is in a really interesting position at the minute because he had a decent result, but in terms of how he actually feels inside the car, he doesn’t feel very confident.
“He doesn’t feel like he’s getting the most out of it, he doesn’t feel like he’s nailing the set-up early in the weekend.
“That’s probably why he was talking about not being able to win in Australia.
“Once he starts to unlock all of that potential, gets a bit more comfortable with the car, be a bit more on par, then I think we’ll see him fighting Carlos a little bit harder.
“At the moment Carlos seems to have taken like a duck to water with this Ferrari and seems the more confident of the two.”
When did Charles Leclerc last win a race?
Leclerc has taken five victories during his F1 career, the last of which came at the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix.
Since then, Sainz has been responsible for all three of Ferrari’s wins – Silverstone 2022, Singapore 2023 and Melbourne 2024.
Ferrari have placed their faith in Leclerc going forward, opting to drop Sainz to make room for Lewis Hamilton next year.
Still, Martin Brundle says it would have ‘hurt’ the Monegasque to lose out to his teammate in Australia.
It remains to be seen just how big a missed opportunity it was for the 26-year-old.
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur is confident they can compete for multiple victories this year, while one journalist thinks he could emulate Verstappen’s 2020 season, when he snatched a couple of wins from the dominant Mercedes.
There’s already excitement about the battle between Leclerc and seven-time world champion Hamilton next year.
Former teammate Sebastian Vettel thinks it will be ‘difficult’ dynamic for Ferrari to manage on track.
One thing Leclerc will want to improve going forward is his pole-to-win ratio.
Currently 23:5, it’s one of the poorest in F1 history, but it may improve if the Scuderia can more consistently match Red Bull’s Sunday pace.
The post ‘Inside the car’: 26-year-old driver ‘doesn’t feel very confident’ despite strong start to 2024 - journalist appeared first on F1 Oversteer.