F1 News: Charles Leclerc claims Ferrari had chance to WIN Saudi Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc, Bahrain GP, Ferrari, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Leclerc claims Ferrari had chance to WIN Saudi Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc knows where Ferrari lost the opportunity to take victory in Jeddah

Shay Rogers

Tuesday 12 March 2024 20:57

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Charles Leclerc has revealed where he believes he lost a shot at winning the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix which was won by Max Verstappen.

The Monegasque driver finished third after a lonely race, where he sat in no man's land at the top of the F1 pack.

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Both Red Bull drivers were too quick for him to catch, and the race stagnated at the front as the pace was controlled.

It all could have been very different if Leclerc was ahead of both Verstappen and his team-mate Sergio Perez in the first instance, but after falling behind, he was never able to close the gap again.

Charles Leclerc after Saudi GP qualifying

Charles Leclerc drives around the Jeddah circuit

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Leclerc shares Saudi verdict

Speaking about what denied him a shot at victory in Saturday’s race, he pointed to tyre warm up as an issue in Jeddah.

“The DRS, I don't think that's where we are lacking at the moment,” he said. “But of course we'll have a further analysis after this weekend to understand exactly what are still our weaknesses and try to update them since last race.

“However, I don't think tyre degradation was a thing. It was more about tyre warm-up and we struggled a bit more to bring them to the right temperature in order to push," he continued.

“This made it also a bit more difficult because I had to overtake cars during my warm-up, and that was a bit trickier for us than for them.

“That's where they pulled the gap, which then stayed more or less stable towards the end, but that was too late for us to put them under any pressure.”

The approaching European leg of the season should provide the Maranello based outfit with an opportunity to upgrade and develop their car.

That doesn’t mean that Red Bull will be resting on their laurels either, but they are well poised to challenge across the next few months at tracks that suit their package much more than either Bahrain or Jeddah did.