Charles Leclerc began the Belgian Grand Prix from pole place and ended up with a podium, however he isn’t taking a lot satisfaction from how Ferrari fared this weekend.
Leclerc had been stunned to complete Saturday’s qualifying session in P2, which meant he was promoted prime pole on Sunday on account of Max Verstappen’s ten place grid penalty for taking a brand new engine this weekend.
However he had been life like about his prospects within the race, with Sergio Perez alongside him on the entrance row within the Purple Bull, Lewis Hamilton ranging from third, and McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri instantly behind.
Leclerc maintained the lead into La Supply, however Hamilton was just too quick and the Mercedes blew previous him down the Kemmel Straight the minute DRS was out there.
Though he briefly regained the lead throughout the first spherical of pit stops, he was by no means in entrance once more after lap 12. It appeared like he had missed out on a podium when Oscar Piastri handed him for third on lap 36.
Though the post-race disqualification of race winner George Russell subsequently returned him to the rostrum place, Leclerc could not take a lot solace from the way in which Ferrari had been outclassed by their rivals in Spa.
“It is quite simple what occurred, we had been simply not quick sufficient,” was his blunt evaluation of the state of affairs when he spoke to the media within the paddock after the end. “I felt like we had been the fourth quickest automobile at present.
“McLaren and Purple Bull had been anticipated, however Mercedes was sooner than anticipated,” he continued. “On a standard race, dry observe like at present, it’s extremely tough to maintain them behind on a observe like this.”
Leclerc did handle to thwart the efforts of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris to go him within the closing levels of the race, which was what put him ready to select up the fortunate podium place hours later.
We did a superb job to maintain Max and Lando behind on the finish, however fourth was one of the best we hoped for at present,” he stated on the time forward of the breaking information of Russell’s disqualification.
However the realisation that Ferrari was now operating behind Mercedes was not the way in which Leclerc wished to be going into the summer time break.
“I feel fourth was what I assumed could be one of the best consequence doable at present with two McLarens in entrance and one Purple Bull,” he stated. “If it was a Purple Bull in entrance then I feel it might have been a optimistic weekend.
“However it was a Mercedes. We thought we had been on par with them, however that they had the sting on us,” he lamented. “We thought that we had been on a par with them so it is worse than anticipated. I do not contemplate this consequence a really optimistic one.
“By way of tyres and technique, we had anticipated to see much more graining on the laborious however they labored properly and we struggled extra with the medium. I assumed we had been stopping too early for the primary cease, however with hindsight the laborious was a very good tyre
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“There was extra bouncing on the finish of the race, extra once we had been pushing at excessive pace, so clearly extra struggles we’ve got with it,” he added. “Within the final stint a bit bit extra, nevertheless it wasn’t loopy.
“I had hoped for a greater consequence going into the vacations, however that is how it’s,” he sighed. “And not less than I do know I bought all the things I might out of the automobile.”
Leclerc’s staff mate Carlos Sainz was feeling equally deflated. He began from seventh place and tried an alternate tyre technique, beginning on laborious tyres and operating 22 laps into the race earlier than making his first piut cease.
“We determined to begin on a distinct technique from everybody round us. The beginning and the primary stint had been excellent, however sadly, I feel we did not have sufficient tempo to make it work to our benefit.”
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The technique put him into the lead for a spell, however his second stint on mediums lasted solely seven laps and his second cease dropped him to eighth behind Perez, though he did get the higher of the Purple Bull on lap 39.
“I felt like we had been on for a podium, after which as quickly as everybody put their hards on, you can see which tempo everybody was doing,” he stated.
“My final stint I felt very aggressive and fast, then after they instructed me lots of instances of the others, I used to be like, ‘no, not fairly as fast as I needed’.
“I feel nonetheless the 2 or three tenths,” he stated when requested what he felt the distinction was in time between Ferrari and the opposite entrance runners.
Requested if he felt Ferrari had achieved something to shut that hole this weekend, Sainz was bluntly trustworthy: “Whenever you see the tempo of Mercedes, Purple Bull and McLaren within the race, I do not suppose so.
“It has been a difficult first half of the season for a lot of completely different causes,” he admitted. “However I am certain that after the summer time break, we’ll come again stronger.”
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