Charles Leclerc was unable to finish higher than fifth in the Brazilian Grand Prix, where he mostly had to defend his position rather than attack those ahead of him.
At the root of the issue, however, was a setup mistake that forced the Monegasque to defend for all 69 laps, not to mention the incorrect strategy during his pit stop after the first stint, which instead of allowing him to race in clean air, put him into traffic due to the elongated times for entering and exiting the fast lane because of the rain.
“The setup was decided with the team, and we thought it was going in the right direction. Instead, it definitely went in the wrong one,” Charles Leclerc stated after the race in Interlagos. “The pace simply wasn’t there; we weren’t competitive. In qualifying, we weren’t that bad with new tires and low fuel.”
“In the race, however, it was tough to drive; it was hard not to make mistakes. In the end, looking at all this, we can be happy to have finished ahead of the two McLarens and to have lost only two points in the Constructors’ Championship. It was a great way to limit the damage on a weekend where we knew the McLarens would be very strong. Now we need to put everything together in the last three races of the season.”
“The strategy was clearly a mistake. In a race like this, it’s very difficult not to make mistakes; it’s very complex because of what happens and what can happen. If we look, only the top three didn’t make strategic errors. We went in the wrong direction. We thought we could pit and then be in clean air, but the time to enter and exit the pit lane, with the wet conditions, was much longer, which put me in the traffic of Bearman and Hamilton. At that point, I knew I would lose a lot. Then the Safety Car came out, and we lost positions. It was very difficult.”
With Brazil behind them, Ferrari now faces a more favorable track. Las Vegas, in 2023, was one of the most favorable circuits for the Scuderia, and according to predictions, it should be this year as well. However, Charles Leclerc warned everyone: this year, the SF-24 manages the tires better than its predecessor, but it also struggles to warm them up when the track is “cold.”
“We were very strong in Las Vegas last year. I hope to be just as strong. But it’s also true that this year we’ve made significant progress in tire management. This means we still lack something in cooler track conditions, as we saw today. Las Vegas will be a bit like that.”
“We hope to work well in these two weeks and arrive ready. We know we can perform well because it has good characteristics for our car, but we need to make better use of the tires. I believe we can also do well in Abu Dhabi, but I think in Qatar we will have to focus on limiting the damage.”
Finally, Charles Leclerc commented on the new track surface at Carlos Pace, which turned out to be almost worse than the previous surface due to bumps and the grip offered despite the recent resurfacing.
“I wasn’t there the last time it rained at Interlagos; I think it was in 2016. But this track surface is not a step forward at all. Honestly, I think it was more difficult this year.” – the Ferrari driver concluded.
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