An obvious disappointment. Charles Leclerc, who started from the pit lane in the Spanish Grand Prix after what happened yesterday during qualifying, was unable to bring the SF-23 equipped with the first points update package.
A weekend that should have helped the Ducati to take the right path for the continuation of the World Championship turned out to be one of the most difficult weekends, with the Monegasque who did not go beyond the 11th place finish and a series of question marks which, perhaps, they worry more than the final result.
If yesterday Leclerc struggled with the rear end of the evolved SF-23, stopping in 19th place on the starting grid, today there were other problems. First of all, the front in the first stint, the one faced with the first of the two sets of Hard mounted during the race.
“Unfortunately, the car was better today. Yesterday I wasn’t able to drive it, because the rear was going everywhere. Today I struggled a lot with the front, especially in the first stint. But the point is that we have to work a lot,” said Charles after the race .
However, what seems to worry the Monte-Carlo native the most is the inconsistency of the Reds with two sets of tires of the same compound. In the first stint, done with Hard tyres, Leclerc struggled and found himself having to manage the lack of grip offered, as well as below-average performance. With Hard’s second train, however, things went better. Perhaps also thanks to a less full tank: this is a situation we have already seen this season, with the SF-23 improving as the fuel on board decreases.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
“We have incredible inconsistency. In the same race we mounted tires of the same compound twice and with the first set of Hard we didn’t go anywhere. We made an immense effort. And with the second set of Hard we did well. I I do the same things, I take the tires to the limit in exactly the same way. But we have enormous inconsistencies. So there’s a lot of work to do from that point of view.”
Apart from the problems mentioned above, Leclerc thinks the updates have helped the team to take a step forward despite the difficult conditions they had to contend with over the course of the Catalan weekend. However, many doubts remain, which the team will have to try to resolve – even if only partially – before arriving at the next round, the Canadian Grand Prix.
“Today, in these conditions, managing the tires was very difficult. We knew it was the most important thing, so we saw the improvements this weekend with the new characteristics of this car and we still have a lot to exploit, however it was a very difficult race today.”
“Certainly today is a disappointment. I didn’t see how the race went for whoever was running in front, but it was certainly a difficult race for both Ferraris today with the tires and we need to learn about that because it’s a problem we’ve had for quite some time. For now it’s impossible to understand, because I do exactly the same things on two trains of identical compounds, but the car has a completely different behavior. And this is something I don’t understand, for now,” concluded Leclerc.
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