The current Formula 1 car has presented Charles Leclerc with a challenge due to Ferrari’s vulnerability to bumps in 2023, as confirmed by the Monegasque driver at the end of the Qualifying session for the Monaco Grand Prix yesterday.
Despite showing promise in the early part of the 2022 Formula 1 campaign and contending for the championship until the summer, Charles Leclerc’s hopes of a strong performance in 2023 have been dampened as the SF-23 fails to match the competitiveness of its predecessor.
The Monegasque driver, who has secured one pole position and achieved one podium finish this year, at the Baku City Circuit, shared his insights after qualifying third for the Monaco Grand Prix. However, he was later penalized and demoted to sixth on the grid due to an incident with the McLaren of Lando Norris, which was not his fault. He elaborated on the shortcomings he encounters with the current vehicle.
“I think it’s on bumps especially,” Charles Leclerc explained to the media, when asked about where the F1-75 was better than the current SF-23 single-seater – “If we look at the onboards of the different cars, check my head and it’s crazy, it’s going from left to right, especially on top of the hill, Turn 3 and Turn 13. It’s very, very tricky. Last year, it was much better and much easier to see the road, so the car will absorb much more the bumps and that was much easier to be consistent. That is the biggest difference.” – the Monegasque driver pointed out.
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“I think our last lap, [I was] speaking with Fernando, and we go into Turn 3, 4, and 13 especially, and you’re just like: ‘OK, let’s see what happens!’ You release the brakes and you don’t see anything because the car is moving like crazy with the bumps. I’ve really struggled with that, the whole weekend and in Q3, you just go for it and see what happens. It was a good feeling, whether it was my best lap around Monaco, I don’t think so. I think last year was a pretty good qualifying, but I was also more at ease with the car. But it’s always exciting in Monaco, and it always feels amazing.” – Scuderia Ferrari man Charles Leclerc concluded.
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