Charles Leclerc believes his “very good” form prior to the Australian Grand Prix was forgotten upon his Ferrari Formula 1 team-mate Carlos Sainz beating him to a win.
The Ferrari driver had entered the Melbourne weekend having taken seven consecutive front-row starts and then set the pace in the second and third practice sessions.
However, Leclerc faltered when it mattered as he struggled with the balance of his SF-24 car and qualified fifth, with Sainz second alongside polesitter Max Verstappen.
Despite climbing through to second place, Leclerc’s one-lap struggles meant his race was compromised and he had to settle for finishing behind the sister Ferrari car.
Meanwhile, Sainz had capitalised on Ferrari’s competitive pace and Verstappen retiring with a stuck right-rear brake duct to charge into a lead that he would not relinquish.
Asked whether he had found answers to his comparative lack of pace compared to Sainz, Leclerc answered: “I think in qualifying it was very clear that it was just myself.
“I’ve had some very, very good qualifying before that. I think it was the first seven rows in a row, which is a good thing. However, in Australia I didn’t do a good job on the Saturday.
“Then on Sunday I’m less worried. I think the second stint was quite a bit compromised by our race situation. We had to pit early because of Lando and Oscar at the beginning of the race.
“And then the second stint was very long, so of course it was a bit more difficult to manage that second stint. But I think that was more down to what I had done wrong on the Saturday.
“And that there’s not much to say apart from that coming into every qualifying you try to extract the best.
“I tried something in Q3 that didn’t work out and it’s the way it is. I’m sure we’ll recover from that.”
Sainz remains the sole driver to have triumphed outside of Red Bull since the start of last season, with his Australia success adding to his Singapore win in September.
While Leclerc accepts he must ensure he comes out on top when those opportunities arise again, he contends that he won’t ignore his strong form going into Australia.
Leclerc, who has not won a race since the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, had out-qualified Sainz in each of the eight rounds to be held between his team-mate two victories.
“I mean, in our life I say that I am happy with that, of course not,” Leclerc added. “But wins are important, points at the end of the season are even more so.
“However, I want to win and I want to be back at winning as soon as possible.
“Carlos has done an amazing job in the two opportunities we had, and now it’s up to me to react and to hopefully win the next one. That’s the target, but I am working flat out for that.
“At the end of the day, I think in Formula 1 very quickly people tend to forget and everything is based on the last race.
“But if I look at my last eight, nine races, I think they have been at a very good level.
“However, in most of those races, the car was not possible to win. But it’s up to me to be there whenever there is the opportunity that arises.
“And the fact is that I haven’t been doing so in Singapore and in the last race. But I will keep pushing, of course.
“However, the fact that Carlos won’t be in Ferrari next year doesn’t add pressure or anything. My goal is always to try and win.”
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