Leclerc unsure as to when Ferrari will fix long-standing issue

Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari’s high-speed corner performance is a major weakness of its Formula 1 package as he urged the team to find a solution.

Ferrari was firmly the fourth fastest car in Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, the McLaren of Lando Norris and the Mercedes’ of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

Leclerc and Carlos Sainz started and finished fifth and sixth as the Scuderia could not keep up with the other leading cars in the medium to high-speed corners found at the track

This is an ongoing concern for Ferrari, with the problems first detected back in April’s Chinese Grand Prix, and one Leclerc feels won’t be solved imminently.

“We were struggling in the high-speed, but let’s see where we are [in Austria],” Leclerc told media including RacingNews365. 

“We struggled a bit more than what I would have expected in the high-speed, and it is an issue we need to tackle as quickly as possible.

“But in Formula 1, you cannot fix those issues that quickly.

“The first difficult race of the season was Shanghai where we saw some things, and here we see it again, and we have got to focus on that.

“But before putting those upgrades on one specific issue, we need a bit of time and unfortunately, in a race, even if the season is 24 races long, we still need to be back as quick as possible.

“We are losing very valuable points against our competitors.

After dominating in Monaco and looking like it was possible to take the title fight to Red Bull, Ferrari suffered an off weekend with a double DNF in Canada before a five-six in Spain, hauling just 18 points.

But Leclerc is optimised that the Spanish slump will be a one-off, owing to the nature of the track.

“In Canada, it was quite clear, and I think we are going to get better in those conditions the next time we have them because we understood something [with the car],” he said.

“It is a bit too early [to say what the problems were in Spain], but my best guess would be that the track characteristics doesn’t suit our car.

“That is my best guess and what I am hoping for and to be back on the pace from Austria onwards.”