Charles Leclerc doesn’t believe that DRS is a weakness for Ferrari SF-24 compared to Red Bull RB20. Charles Leclerc on what made the difference between Ferrari and Red Bull in Saudi Arabia.

The difference between Red Bull and Ferrari in Saudi Arabia
The Jeddah weekend confirmed what had already emerged the previous weekend in Bahrain: Scuderia Ferrari is the ‘anti-Red Bull,’ at least in the early stages of the 2024 Formula 1 season. The SF-24 has taken a significant leap forward in performance compared to the SF-23, and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix certified the progress of the Italian side during the winter, a noticeable improvement that needs to be completed with refinement of the rear, still too unstable.

The Maranello-based team decided to race with a more loaded wing than the competition, sacrificing Qualifying for the sake of the race. Max Verstappen, on a hot lap, outpaced Charles Leclerc by over three-tenths, a performance emphasized by Helmut Marko. In the race, the Dutch driver easily managed the lead, which he lost only during the Safety Car period, where, for example, Lando Norris did not stop, inheriting the race lead for a few laps.

For Max Verstappen, overtaking the McLaren driver was not difficult, but the same cannot be said for many other drivers who, despite using DRS, couldn’t get past their opponents. While it wasn’t challenging for Sergio Perez to pass Charles Leclerc on the fourth lap, securing second place in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc does not consider DRS a ‘critical’ factor through which Red Bull makes a difference at the beginning of this 2024 Formula 1 championship:

“Regarding DRS, I don’t believe it’s an aspect where we are lacking compared to Red Bull at the moment,” said the Monegasque driver in a post-race press conference in Saudi Arabia. “Now we have a whole week to analyze everything and understand the areas where we need to improve. From my point of view, tire warm-up was a factor today that put us in difficulty compared to Red Bull. It was at that moment in the race that the gap opened up between me and the Red Bull cars, and it wasn’t easy for me because I had to simultaneously bring the tires up to temperature and overtake other drivers who hadn’t stopped during the Safety Car. After that moment, the gap between me and the Red Bulls remained almost identical until the checkered flag, but by then it was too late to put any pressure on them.” – the Ferrari man pointed out at the end of the Jeddah race.