Charles Leclerc has warned that the next two Formula 1 weekends could expose one of Ferrari’s biggest weaknesses before it has a chance to respond with further developments.
While Ferrari believes it has identified the cause of the dramatic drop in performance that derailed Leclerc's Austrian Grand Prix, the Monegasque admits Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps may still prove especially unforgiving circuits for the current package.
Leclerc appeared poised to challenge for victory at the Red Bull Ring after qualifying alongside polesitter George Russell on the front row.
Instead, Sunday unfolded into a frustrating afternoon as he slipped backwards through the field to finish eighth, well behind both McLarens and Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
The disappointing race contrasted sharply with the optimism Ferrari had built following upgrades introduced in Barcelona.
Sunday struggles
Leclerc, who has also been evaluating a revised brake package after the braking issues that contributed to his Monaco retirement, stopped short of discussing specific technical changes but insisted the overall direction has been encouraging.
"It wouldn’t be fair for me to go into the specifics of that, as well as because there’s been many changes in Barcelona.
"We arrived with a completely new package as a car. There are a few things that made me more comfortable in the car in Barcelona, for sure, and I think it was a much more positive weekend in terms of pace and feeling.
"Unfortunately, the result on Sunday was known as we had a technical issue, and on Saturday, obviously, it cost me quite a bit to do the mistake that I’ve done in Q3.
"For this reason, it hasn’t been the weekend I wanted, but in terms of pace, looking back at it, I wouldn’t describe that weekend as a struggle. I think it was a strong weekend in terms of pace, but it’s true that in Austria, it wasn’t a struggle until the Sunday, but on the Sunday, I definitely struggled."
Ferrari has since analyzed the Austrian race in detail and believes the underlying cause of Leclerc's sudden lack of pace has now been isolated.
Silverstone and Spa Could Stretch Ferrari Further
Despite identifying the issue, Leclerc is not expecting an immediate turnaround. The characteristics of Silverstone and Spa are likely to magnify the current limitations of Ferrari's package, leaving the team braced for two difficult weekends before further improvements can be introduced.
"I think we pinpointed a few things that played a big role into the lack of performance on Sunday. We’ll change that.
"It’s also fair to say that the next two races will be, I think, very tough for the team.
Read also:
Hamilton: Energy management impact at Silverstone will be ‘huge’"The best thing I can do is to keep my head down and keep pushing no matter where we are fighting."
His comments underline Ferrari's realistic outlook as it continues working on an updated ADUO-assisted power unit.
Until those developments arrive, the Scuderia appears set to remain vulnerable against Mercedes, with Leclerc focused less on championship mathematics and more on extracting every possible result from a package he knows will face one of its sternest examinations over the next two Grands Prix.
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