Charles Leclerc says he has been saddened by Ferrari’s level of performance during Friday practice in Belgium, as the team found itself mired towards the back of the field.
Ferrari has struggled for speed throughout the delayed 2020 campaign and enters this weekend’s seventh round only fifth in the Constructors’ Championship.
Ferrari has won the Belgian Grand Prix across the past two years and in 2019 Leclerc claimed pole position by over seven-tenths of a second.
But on Friday at Spa-Francorchamps the SF1000s were nowhere near the front of the time sheets.
The duo placed only 14th and 15th in FP1 – in which only 17 drivers set a time – and in FP2 Leclerc classified 15th, with Sebastian Vettel 17th.
“I think it’s probably a surprise to be so far back, especially in FP2,” he said.
“We tried quite a lot of things in FP2; at the beginning I tried something quite aggressive in downforce levels but it didn’t really work out so we came back on that.
“We are just lacking pace at the moment. We need to work hard to catch back but I don’t expect miracles for this weekend.
“It’s sad to see Ferrari so far down, but as always our work as drivers is to give our best and that’s exactly what I’m trying and what Seb is trying to do in the car.”
Four-time World Champion Vettel lapped faster than only Williams rookie Nicholas Latifi and the Haas drivers.
“I think it was a difficult day for us,” he said.
“The car was difficult and tricky to drive, that also means that we are not quite where we should be.
“We’re looking currently to find options with the set-up, we tried a lot this afternoon, we’ll reset and try again, and try something different.”
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