Charles Leclerc has bemoaned Ferrari’s lack of pace at the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, after upgrades to the SF-26 failed to translate into a race-winning performance.
Ferrari brought 11 upgrades to the SF-26 for Miami in a bid to catch Mercedes, including a new floor, front and rear wings, and re-profiled front suspension. .
However, Leclerc and Hamilton struggled to match the pace of McLaren and Mercedes across the sprint and the grand prix, leaving Leclerc searching for answers.
Although featuring at the battle at the front on Saturday, taking a podium, he and Ferrari drifted backwards on Sunday, a last penalty for gaining an advantage after spinning compounding his afternoon.
After the race, Leclerc pinpointed the cause of his loss of pace.
“On the medium we weren’t strong. We were degrading a massive amount,” Leclerc said to media after the race, including Motorsport Week.
“On the hard, it wasn’t great at the beginning but then it picked up and was a little bit better, but it was never at the level of Saturday.
“We need to look at it. We lost a lot of performance from then, and I would like to understand exactly what happened there.”
Charles Leclerc teases more upgrades
Leclerc also admitted that although Ferrari’s upgrades did have an impact, they did not go far enough, for one key reason.
“The upgrade package is working, and the thing is that the others are pushing as well, and probably their upgrade package was a little bit better,” he said.
“We’ve got other things coming soon, and hopefully that will help us to get back a little bit in front. It’s fine details, but with this generation of cars, especially in this first year, it will all be about the development.
“So we have to make sure we do everything perfect in terms of development.”
Ferrari had had a wakeup call over its Miami upgrades, and their lack of effectiveness highlights the brutality of this year’s car development war.
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