Marc Priestley ‘can understand’ why Charles Leclerc got annoyed by a Formula 1 rival in practice for the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix after venting it is ‘always’ the same driver.
The Ferrari star jetted to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this week desperate to bounce back from his Canadian GP woes. Leclerc had his first retirement of the year in Montreal due to a power unit problem. Carlos Sainz even crashed in Ferrari’s first double DNF in two years.
Mechanics in Maranello have identified the cause of the issue in Leclerc’s engine which rose its head after two laps. But the gremlin ensured the 26-year-old could not respond to a poor qualifying result. Leclerc started the Canadian GP down in 11th place, with Sainz in only P12.
Lance Stroll frustrated Charles Leclerc in FP1 for the 2024 F1 Spanish GP
Practice for the Spanish GP did not start promisingly for Leclerc, either, with the Ferrari racer only managing the 11th-fastest lap in FP1. Sainz at least put a Ferrari P3 on the timing sheet with his 1:14.572 – only slower than Lando Norris’ 1:14.228 and Max Verstappen’s 1:14.252.
Leclerc set a personal-best lap time of 1:15.434 in FP1 to run over a second off the best pace at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. An early off, plus a possible clutch issue, also blighted his FP1. His irritation only increased when Lance Stroll of Aston Martin impeded Leclerc, too.
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Stroll baulked Leclerc on the run through Turn 11 after keeping to the centre of the track out of the long T10 left-hander. The Canadian’s positioning meant Leclerc would not attack T12 likely he ideally wanted. And Priestley can understand why Stroll’s position annoyed Leclerc.
Priestley told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It’s quite a high-speed corner where Charles Leclerc nearly tripped over Lance Stroll. I can understand his frustration. It’s not going smoothly yet for Leclerc, is it?”
Charles Leclerc failed to demonstrate Ferrari’s fast-tracked upgrades in FP1
Leclerc grumbled over Ferrari’s team radio after avoiding Stroll, ‘Who is that Aston Martin?’. He also added, ‘In the middle of the curve, as always’, after learning that it was the 25-year-old from Montreal. But Leclerc’s early off and clutch issue were far greater problems in FP1.
Ferrari fast-tracked a large upgrade package originally due at the British GP for the Spanish GP this weekend. But Leclerc could not show what the Scuderia’s new high-downforce rear wing, beam wing, sidepod undercut and floor have brought, while Sainz finished FP1 in P3.
What Leclerc will hope above all is that he does not trip over another rival like Stroll at T11 come qualifying for the 2024 Spanish GP. Catching another driver through the small kink on Saturday could be costly and threaten another disappointing result like at the Canadian GP.
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