Ferrari finished the second qualifying session of the Austrian Grand Prix in fourth and sixth positions, confirming that the difficulties faced in Spain were not an isolated incident. The SF-24 seems to have lost the balance it showed earlier in the year, but the two drivers have different opinions on the car’s problems. Charles Leclerc highlights the difficulty in balancing performance in slow and fast sections, while Carlos Sainz points to bouncing as the main issue.
Charles Leclerc, disappointed with the qualifying result but satisfied with the setup progress, said: “I’d say we’ve made good steps forward compared to this morning; we changed some things on the car,” Charles Leclerc told the press at the circuit. “However, I’m a bit disappointed with my second lap in Q3; I made a mistake that cost us a chance to be in the top three. The car feels better, though.”
The gap to Max Verstappen and Lando Norris is significant, and Leclerc did not hesitate when asked about the current SF-24’s limit: “Compared to Red Bull or McLaren, I’d say it’s the overall grip. However, we have a good balance, and I think we did a good job in qualifying.” While the balance is positive compared to Friday, it is still precarious overall. The challenge for Ferrari is to avoid imbalances between high-speed and low-speed corners.
Charles Leclerc reiterates a point he made after the Spanish GP, stating that fast corners are not Ferrari’s problem at the moment: “I still think that when we set up the car well for high-speed sections, we lose too much in the slow sections. The problem is finding the balance. It may seem like we’re weak in high-speed corners, but that’s because we have to optimize the car for the slow sections as well.”
Bouncing as a Limitation
Carlos Sainz has a different view, pointing to the SF-24’s slowness in high-speed sections: “Without going into too much detail, I think it’s a combination of not being strong in fast corners and suffering from bouncing, which makes us extremely slow in high-speed corners. We’re losing a tenth in corner 7, another in corner 9, and another in corner 10 to Max. It’s hard to make up for it in the rest of the track because we’re almost on par in slow corners.”
There are also divergent opinions on whether the current issues are related to the latest updates from Maranello. “I don’t think so,” says Charles Leclerc. “Maybe,” replies Carlos Sainz, adding: “We see that [the package] works in all areas where we don’t suffer from bouncing. However, if bouncing starts at high speeds, you have to lift off. What you gain in some areas, you lose in others. The more high-speed corners a track has, the worse the compromise.”
These differing views from Ferrari’s drivers do not necessarily exclude each other and underscore the team’s struggle compared to Red Bull and McLaren.
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