Charles Leclerc: “Ferrari improved, but McLaren maintains 3–4 tenths advantage” | F1 Austria GP. Charles Leclerc returns to the front row at the Austrian GP.

Back on the front row
Ferrari returned to the front row in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix—an achievement that, based on previous rounds this season, was far from guaranteed. Charles Leclerc can enjoy his second place on the grid at the Red Bull Ring, even though the gap to pole-sitter Lando Norris (over half a second at the fastest lap-time circuit on the calendar) clearly shows how much ground Ferrari still needs to recover compared to the MCL39.

“It had been a while since we started from the front row,” Charles Leclerc told Sky Sport F1. “There was Monaco, but that’s such a specific track. It was hard to think we’d get a result like this on a more normal circuit. Yet we managed it today, so from that perspective, I’m really happy. But the gap is definitely huge.” Charles Leclerc did not take anything away from Lando Norris—who thrives at the Red Bull Ring—but he made it clear that a significant part of the difference lies in the cars themselves.

New floor, but not enough
“Lando put in an amazing lap,” Charles Leclerc acknowledged, “and part of that gap is down to him. But in my view, the actual difference between our cars right now is three and a half to four tenths. That’s been fairly consistent across most tracks. I think today other teams were just a bit more inconsistent. We did a great job as a team, worked hard on the car, and I’m happy with what we’ve achieved. Plus, we know that the Sunday car is usually stronger than the Saturday one.”

Charles Leclerc also gave positive feedback on the updated floor brought to Austria, which might have helped Ferrari reclaim its status as the second-fastest team: “If we take Lando out, the gaps are very close,” the #16 driver explained. “So the floor definitely did its job today and helped us secure this front row. The team did a great job on that. As I said before the weekend, I was quite confident that this was the right direction. But there’s always a question mark until you actually put the car on track. Everything went well, so I’m pleased. Still, there’s a long road ahead—we need to keep our heads down and keep working, because the gap is still there.”

As for the race, Charles Leclerc remains hopeful but realistic about Ferrari’s chances of challenging McLaren: “I believe in it,” he said. “The gap is big. Our car is stronger in the race, but I don’t think we’ll gain five tenths. Still, we’re close—we need to put them under pressure and try to force them into mistakes.” – the Monegasque driver concluded.