Charles Leclerc has explained why Ferrari ‘struggled a lot’ during qualifying for the 2024 Chinese GP after the Scuderia made a ‘sacrifice’ they hope will pay dividends.
The Maranello outfit could only manage P6 and P7 in Q3 with Leclerc running 0.629 seconds off the pace. Carlos Sainz also lapped the Shanghai International Circuit a mere 0.008s down on his stablemate. It marked the worst performance Ferrari have had in qualifying this term.
Ferrari had enjoyed front-row starts through Leclerc at the Bahrain GP plus Saudi Arabian GP and Sainz at the Australian GP. The latter even started the Japanese GP from fourth place for the team’s previous worst qualifying result. But Ferrari were miles off the pace this Saturday.
Charles Leclerc admits Ferrari ‘struggled’ after ‘sacrificing’ their qualifying speed
Leclerc feels Ferrari ‘struggled’ for pace during qualifying for the Chinese GP as their set-up did not suit the first sector. But the 26-year-old admits the team still expected more than P6 and P7. So, Ferrari ‘sacrificed’ outright speed to try to build a superior car for Sunday’s race.
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The Scuderia’s sacrifice looked likely to pay off during Q2 when Sainz went third-fastest and Leclerc followed for P4. But they only improved by 0.071s and 0.110s come Q3, as Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri found 0.504s, 0.295s and 0.386s to get P3, 4 and 5.
Charles Leclerc knows he and Carlos Sainz must make progress in the Chinese GP
Ferrari did not expect Aston Martin and McLaren to make such progress between sessions in qualifying. Now, Leclerc admits that he and Sainz must make progress in the early laps of the Chinese GP on Sunday for Ferrari’s gamble to remove part of their qualifying pace to pay off.
“We struggled a lot in the first sector, which I can have an idea of, and I don’t think it comes from tyre preparation that time,” Leclerc said, via quotes by Motorsport Week. “But we set it up the car on my side mostly for the race tomorrow. I think it’s going to pay off tomorrow.
“However, we did not expect McLaren and Fernando to be able to jump us, so I was happy to sacrifice being P3 behind the Red Bulls with a good car for the race. But now, obviously, we are starting P6. So, it’s a bit further back than what we would have liked.
“However, we have a good race pace [and] good tyre management [and] that gives me the confidence that we can come back to third tomorrow. But we need to get past quickly and, hopefully, there are no DRS trains.”
Ferrari tweaked their set-up following the Sprint at the Chinese to try and improve their race pace for Leclerc and Sainz. The Scuderia duo started it in P5 and P7. But Leclerc finished the Sprint in P4 and Sainz took P5 after the Ferrari teammates made contact in the 19-lap event.
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