Charles Leclerc was left furious after an inexplicable issue on his Ferrari after qualifying sixth for the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix Sprint.
The Monegasque has arrived in China looking to capitalise on a positive opening to the season with the Scuderia, having given Mercedes an unexpected challenge in Melbourne.
Ferrari initially opted to run its intriguing ‘Macarena’ wing this weekend, but withdrew it after using it in FP1.
Leclerc was unable to extract as much as he would have liked out of the SF-26 in Sprint qualifying, ending up sixth, with teammate Lewis Hamilton fourth.
With another fast circuit on offer this weekend, energy deployment and conservation are all-important once again, and Leclerc was fuming after his Ferrari did not extract the speed he hopes.
“What the hell is happening? I lost like four tenths on the back straight,” he exclaimed over the team radio.
After qualifying, Leclerc explained in further detail that he had been on for a good lap, had the Ferrari not let him down at a crucial part of the track.
“Unfortunately when I had a good lap I lost half a second on the back straight for whatever reason on the second lap in SQ3,” he said.
“So we will analyse that and try to understand what has gone wrong.”
Leclerc appeared confident in the Maranello-based squad’s race pace, but admitted that over one lap, Mercedes holds a significant advantage.
“In the race we should be relatively a bit stronger than where we are now in qualifying, however, Mercedes seems to be a step ahead in qualifying.”
If Leclerc did indeed lose that much, then he could prick the confidence of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, particularly with his customary one-lap nous.
And if the Ferrari’s race pace can continue to strengthen – ‘Macarena’ wing or otherwise – then its strategy must be at the top of its game if it wants to give Mercedes any semblance of a challenge.
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