Charles Leclerc has not refused to see the driver’s championship want this early in the season, but says Ferrari needs to quickly find the answer to the qualifying questions to keep him in the fight.
Ferrari took part this year in hopes of trying both titles after winning the Constructors Championship last season and dropping by 14 points, but has struggled so far, with Leclair’s third place in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on the first podium in 2025.
“I think we’re getting closer to the pace of the race,” Leclerc said. “I think Free Air will give a bit of a dictation as to who wins the race. That’s always been the case. This year will be a little more than the rest of the year.
“The problem this weekend is that it’s not always the same issue. This time we were four-quarters in the first three corners. On the rest of the laps, we were fast. And in reality, the first sector was probably the best sector we had. So we have to look at it.
“Obviously, there’s an answer to what we’re doing, and we’re doing something wrong. Obviously we have to find it. We’ve already gone 50 points in the driver’s championship, so we can’t lose too many races before we find it.
Leclerc ran long on medium tires, leading for the spell, then later made a pit stop for the harder later than many of his rivals, allowing him to climb into the top three. He wants to praise the way Ferrari ran on both Saturday and Sunday, and believes that the only thing that lacks is the performance of the car.
“We feel that we absolutely made the most of everything this weekend. There was nothing more in the car,” Leclerc said. “It took a very long time to not be satisfied with the balance of the car, so I think we need to focus on qualifying. I know we can get the most out of the car, so I feel very relieved with the car, but unfortunately, the car’s potential is not good enough to fight better in qualifying.
“In the race, a good car balance was the result. We were all surprised at the free air pace in the first stint. It was really good. Everything else was fully executed. The strategy was great. The pit stop was great throughout the season and last year as well.