Ferrari loses 4 points to McLaren
After the euphoria of victories in the United States Grand Prix at the Austin circuit and the Mexico City Grand Prix, there was a cold shower—literally, given the weather conditions—at Interlagos. Ferrari had to settle for Charles Leclerc’s fifth place in a very tough Brazilian Grand Prix, where both SF-24 cars never looked competitive enough to fight for victory, neither in dry nor wet conditions, nor in qualifying nor in the race. However, in terms of standings, Charles Leclerc finishing ahead of both McLaren cars allowed Ferrari to limit the damage, losing few points in the Constructors’ standings (5 in the Sprint Race and 2 in the GP) and remaining fully in contention for the 2024 Formula 1 title.
Charles Leclerc’s race
“Today,” said Charles Leclerc after the checkered flag, “the pace just wasn’t there, except maybe in qualifying. I think in qualifying we weren’t that bad with new tires and low fuel, but in the race, we were going nowhere. But more than just lacking competitiveness, the problem was that the car was very difficult to drive. It was extremely challenging not to make mistakes, and in the end, looking at the overall picture, the only thing we can be somewhat satisfied with is that we finished ahead of the two McLarens and only lost a few points. We managed to limit the damage well in a weekend where they seemed very strong.” – the Monegasque driver pointed out at the end of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Ferrari’s issues in the Brazilian GP
The Ferrari driver further explained what went wrong with the setup on his car: “I believe our cars were harder to drive compared to some others. That’s definitely the case, but it’s also partly my fault, our fault for deciding to go with that specific setup configuration. We really struggled today. Even in qualifying, driving wasn’t easy, but in the race, it was incredibly complicated at one point. It was extremely easy to go off track and make a big mistake. It happened to me in Turn 4, but luckily I only lost one position. We need to analyze this because I feel that at the beginning of the season, like in Canada, we were still very strong in the rain. Today it wasn’t like that.” – the Ferrari man added.
Ferrari’s strategy error
Charles Leclerc also spoke about strategy, admitting that the drivers in the top three made the difference by not making any mistakes: “If we look at who made it to the podium, they were the only three who didn’t put a foot wrong. They deserved to be there. On our side, we definitely made a mistake at the first pit stop. We stopped early because I wanted to drive in clean air, but unfortunately, the time taken to enter and exit the pit lane in the wet turned out to be longer than we had calculated. So, I ended up in the traffic of Ollie and Lewis (Bearman and Hamilton, ed.) and we lost a lot. Then, with the Safety Car, we lost another three positions. That’s how it went; these things happen in races like this.” – Charles Leclerc concluded.
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