If already at the end of the qualifying shootout there were first signs of discontent because the SF-24 did not deliver the expected performance, particularly due to bouncing issues and struggles in faster corners which cost about three tenths per lap, the sprint provided more indications that, even over the longer distance, the Prancing Horse currently lacks the pace to challenge the front runners.
The “short” race, effectively unfolding over a 23-lap stint on medium tires, highlighted two fundamental aspects: on one hand, the need for Ferrari to work on details, and on the other, the issue of performance, not at the level of Red Bull and McLaren, which demonstrated superior pace.
In fact, Charles Leclerc also made a great start, passing both Alpine cars and Sergio Perez’s Red Bull in the first lap with a fine move starting at Turn 4 and completing on the outside at Turn 6. However, once in the train of two Mercedes and Carlos Sainz, the Monegasque encountered problems that slowed both SF-24s: brake management.
“The first lap went well, I’m satisfied with it, but the rest of the race was very tough, we managed the brakes and didn’t have the pace,” Charles Leclerc recounted after the Austrian Sprint race, clearly disappointed not only with the result but also with the overall performance.
Typically, the Red Bull Ring is a particularly demanding circuit for the braking system, both because the track is at altitude with thinner air and due to the circuit’s characteristics, which emphasize sharp braking zones interspersed with three long straights. Moreover, being at the back of a group of four cars, it’s clear that dirty air tends to raise temperatures, accentuating disparities between the left and right sides of the car.
Precisely when Charles Leclerc had to increase lift-and-coast techniques, where you lift off the throttle earlier to then brake less abruptly, as was the case here, the gap to the Mercedes also widened. The inability to use DRS to stay close to the group extinguished any hope of dueling for the Monaco driver, who had to settle for seventh place.
“The brake issue made it a bit tough to stay close with DRS being the fourth car in the train, I had to do a lot of lift and coast to try to maintain the correct temperatures. These are details, but we need to be on point with these things, but ultimately it’s that we’re not fast enough right now. That’s why this afternoon I want to try something, even if it could go the wrong way, but we need to try something because we’ve been struggling for two or three races.” – he continued.
However, the real issue isn’t so much the seventh position, as it stems from both yesterday’s incident in sprint qualifying and, above all, the lack of performance from the SF-24. That’s why Leclerc added that in the window between the end of the sprint and the start of this afternoon’s qualifying session, he will take some additional risks with the setup.
“Honestly, I want to try something different for this afternoon, maybe take the risk that it could even be worse, but it can’t be worse than seventh or eighth position. I think there’s more to gain by trying a different approach.”
“It’s time to try something different because if we do a perfect qualifying, maybe we can achieve fifth or fourth. But that’s not what we should aim for,” the Ferrari driver added.
The brake issue also penalized Carlos Sainz, especially in the early part of the race when he was trying to stay close to Oscar Piastri. Like Leclerc, the Spaniard was forced to do a lot of lift and coast to manage high temperatures, losing the opportunity to use DRS to defend against George Russell.
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