After the Chinese GP (and before the disqualification), Charles Leclerc admitted that Ferrari did not start on the right foot and is facing a significant gap to McLaren.
Ferrari and the Suzuka challenge
If Melbourne had postponed Ferrari’s verdict, China outright rejected it, even considering the Sprint win. The SF-25 is a car with potential but suffers from major rear-end issues, generating little downforce and forcing engineers to work with very low ride heights to compensate (and risk disqualification, as happened to Lewis Hamilton).
At Suzuka, Ferrari is obliged to deliver a strong response, if only to regain confidence after the blow of the double disqualification (for two different reasons). The Japanese circuit, being front-limited, could actually help the Scuderia. However, Charles Leclerc does not see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Charles Leclerc’s words
“I’m not optimistic about Suzuka. Right now, we are very far from McLaren, especially in qualifying,” said the Monegasque after the GP and before his disqualification for failing to meet the SF-25’s minimum weight requirement.
“Lewis extracted more than the car’s potential in the Sprint Qualifying, but Saturday’s qualifying showed exactly where we stand: we are three tenths behind McLaren. In race pace, we are quite similar (even though the first month seemed to suggest otherwise), but we can’t perform miracles if we start four or five positions behind. We need to improve.”
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