Charles Leclerc has revealed he is still motivated to help reverse the issues Ferrari has struggled with during this year’s Formula 1 season, admitting it is “not a nice feeling”.
Leclerc laboured to a sixth-place finish at the Singapore Grand Prix, in what was another difficult weekend for the Scuderia.
Neither Leclerc nor team-mate Lewis Hamilton appeared to be in contention in qualifying after a positive free practice, and it set the tone for the remainder of the weekend.
Its misery was further compounded by Hamilton suffering from a brake issue late in the race, which contributed towards his five-second penalty dished out after the race.
Ferrari revealed that it was an ongoing issue that Hamilton was forced to manage for the entirety of the race, curtailing his bid to take fifth from Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Leclerc later revealed that he too had a similar problem, explaining to media including Motorsport Week that he was required to, like Hamilton, lift and coast for most of the evening’s race.
“Oh yes, from Lap 8 basically it was all about managing those brakes,” he said. “I think everybody has to manage to a certain extent on a track like this, but I think we were on the worst side of things and that makes it extremely difficult. I mean our whole race was very tricky.”
Leclerc desperate to help Ferrari ‘turn the situation around’
Leclerc has only been able to muster five podiums without victory so far this year, with a solitary pole position to boot.
It is without a doubt a situation the Monegasque would rather not have to content with, particularly having taken three race wins last year as Ferrari narrowly missed out on the Constructors’ Championship to McLaren.
But with the Woking-based squad having already retained it in Singapore, Ferrari have regressed. But whilst Leclerc is downcast about his and his team’s predicament, he said he is still feeling motivated to help himself and the team succeed.
“Yes, it takes a lot of energy but that doesn’t demotivate me,” he said. “It motivates me much more to try and turn the situation around.
“It’s very tough, especially after a race like today where you are not even fighting for a podium. You have to manage lots of issues. It’s just not a nice feeling.”
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