Charles Leclerc laments wrong setup direction after painful Austrian GP: “These cars are very sensitive”. Austrian GP: Charles Leclerc says Ferrari fell outside the ideal setup window.

Charles Leclerc’s Austrian Grand Prix turned into another weekend to forget, as the Ferrari driver slipped from a front-row start to eighth place at the chequered flag. While Ferrari had adopted a philosophy under Frederic Vasseur of balancing qualifying performance with stronger race pace, the Red Bull Ring weekend produced a familiar contrast between an impressive Saturday and a deeply disappointing Sunday.

Another frustrating Sunday for Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc ultimately paid the highest price for Ferrari’s struggles, finishing at the back of the leading teams’ group after being unable to maintain the pace shown in qualifying. The Monegasque also lost another position in the Drivers’ Championship to Oscar Piastri and now sits level on points with Lando Norris, while Max Verstappen is just six points behind.

The gap to Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton also continues to grow. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion now enjoys a 46-point advantage over Charles Leclerc—the same margin by which Hamilton trails championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Ferrari fell outside the ideal setup window

Charles Leclerc explained that, aside from Ferrari’s engine performance, setup choices played a major role in his difficult race. “We chose a setup direction similar to the one we used last year, and it worked well in qualifying. In the race, however, it proved to be much less effective, and I struggled especially with the rear of the car, which was sliding a lot.”

The Ferrari driver stressed that the team’s recent upgrades are not to blame, pointing to the encouraging performance shown in Spain. “In Barcelona we had a very positive weekend in terms of race pace, so we know the upgrades we’ve brought are working. These new cars are very sensitive, though, and if you don’t manage to find the right operating window with the setup, you immediately pay the price. It’s something we still need to understand better and optimize ahead of the next races.”

Charles Leclerc’s comments underline how fine the balance has become with Formula 1’s current generation of cars, where even small setup changes can dramatically alter race performance from one weekend to the next.