Charles Leclerc pinpoints two mistakes that hampered Ferrari's chances in F1 Sao Paulo GP
11/05/2024 04:41 PM
Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc has admitted to committing two errors that negatively impacted the Italian side’s performance during the last Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix which was held at the 4.309-kilometre Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace in Brazil.
Starting from sixth position on the grid, Charles Leclerc initially settled into fifth place in the early laps, closely following Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon, who were running in third and fourth. Meanwhile, the rapidly accelerating Max Verstappen was quickly approaching from behind in the challenging conditions at Interlagos.
As the intermediate tires began to lose their effectiveness, Charles Leclerc was the first driver to opt for a fresh set of intermediates. Unfortunately, this decision thrust him into a pack of midfield traffic, and his situation was worsened by the subsequent deployment of the safety car and a red flag.
Ultimately, he managed to secure fifth place by the end of the race, finishing 1.9 seconds ahead of Lando Norris. However, the Monegasque driver acknowledged in his post-race remarks that the two mistakes he made had hindered his ability to advance further during the Brazilian Grand Prix.
“We decided the set-up with the team, but I wanted to go in one direction, but it was the wrong one. The pace was just not there, whether it was in qualifying, where we weren’t too bad, but in the race, we were nowhere. It was a mistake [to pit], but it has to be said that in a race like this, it is very difficult to not make any mistakes in terms of strategy as there are so many calls you need to make. Only the top three made no mistakes, but we were on the other side of things. We stopped as I wanted free air, so I asked the team to find free air, and they boxed me that lap. But unfortunately, the time in the pit-entry and pit-exit in the wet was longer than we thought and I ended up in the middle of traffic with Ollie [Bearman] and Lewis [Hamilton].” – the Ferrari man pointed out following the 21st round of the 2024 Formula 1 championship in Brazil.
Ferrari’s efforts to limit damage during the race were evident, as Charles Leclerc emerged as the sole points scorer for the team after Carlos Sainz’s retirement due to a crash at Turn 7, as the Spaniard put his left wheel on the white line.. He managed to secure 10 points, while McLaren added 12 to their tally.
This situation was further compounded by the outcomes of the sprint race, where McLaren achieved a one-two finish, leaving Charles Leclerc in third and his Maranello teammate in fifth. As a result, McLaren gained a total of seven points on Ferrari in the constructors’ championship standings, widening the gap to 36 points with just three races left in the 2024 Formula One campaign, ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc expressed that the only aspect of the race that Ferrari could take solace in was their ability to mitigate the losses: “The only thing we can be satisfied with is being ahead of the two McLarens, losing only four points in the constructors’ is a big damage limitation on a weekend they seemed so strong,” – the Monegasque driver concluded.
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