A quarter of disappointment and the awareness of not having a car capable of fighting for the podium, let alone for a the race victory.
Charles Leclerc, looking rather gloomy, spoke to the media at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix. Although he finished as the best Ferrari driver, he was 14 seconds behind winner Max Verstappen and the McLarens closely following him.
The race clearly highlighted what Ferrari had already shown in the first two races in Melbourne and Shanghai. The SF-25 has glimpses of potential but also flaws that, to this day, are tangible and hold it back both in qualifying and race pace.
At the end of the race, the Monegasque driver reiterated the positive improvements in his feelings since last Friday, but also the inadequacy of the Ferrari, which is still unable to fight for wins.
“In terms of feelings, I’ve improved, yes, the feeling was better and I have a clear idea of what I want to do for the next races to achieve better results. But it doesn’t make me smile. When we do everything perfectly like we did today and we finish fourth with the pace we had… it hurts. When you give everything and know as a team there was nothing more we could do, and then you see you’re missing 2-3 tenths to McLaren and Red Bull in both race and qualifying… that’s how it is…”
A gloomy face, but not completely defeated. Charles Leclerc believes the gap between Ferrari and McLaren, as well as Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, can be closed. However, his statement on maximizing the team’s current package contradicts Fred Vasseur’s words.
According to the team principal, the SF-25 still has potential to be unlocked. Charles Leclerc’s comments, however, suggest that the maximum has already been extracted, and something different is needed to improve performance.
“The gap is closeable, I believe it. As I’ve always said, no matter where we started this year, we still had to look ahead, and we must continue to do that. We need to try to make small steps in the right direction. Let’s say this start of the season hasn’t been great. But it’s what we can do for now. We must be happy with how we maximized the car’s potential this weekend, but not happy with the fact that it brought us to finish fourth. I know they’re working hard in Maranello. We hope for more performance in Bahrain.”
Finally, Charles Leclerc emphasized the importance of the upcoming race in Sakhir, a track that hosted pre-season testing at the end of February: “Bahrain will be important for us. Surely, I’m going there with a different perspective compared to the tests and with a clear direction on my driving style. I hope it will pay off.” – the Monegasque driver concluded at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix.
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