Leclerc reveals what Ferrari should priorize in the near future
Following an impressive comeback drive after a difficult qualifying session at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc stressed that the Maranello-based outfit will need to find a solution for its struggles in wet conditions.
Following a disastrous qualifying session, Ferrari managed to salvage something from the Las Vegas weekend which had started promising for the Scuderia with strong pace across the Thursday practice sessions.
Charles Leclerc displayed encouraging performance across the opening two practice sessions, but he struggled for grip ont he wet surface in qualifying, ending up down in ninth place.
The Monegasque had an ordinary start, but he was tagged by Fernando Alonso into Turn 1 which saw him lose a place to the Spaniard. However, he did not give up and emerged as the only driver who could complete multiple overtaking manoevures on the track.
Leclerc managed to climb through the field to finish sixth despite a downforce setup that was more suited to wet conditions. The 28-year-old then gained two places post race, benefitting from the double disqualification of the McLaren drivers.
As for his team-mate Lewis Hamilton, he made up six places on the opening lap only to spend the majority of the first part of the 50-lap Las Vegas Grand Prix behind the Haas of Esteban Ocon.
The Briton then rose into the top 10 on the hard tyre but after he pitted onto the mediums, his progress stalled and he could not pick off Hulkenberg in the closing stages. He also gained two positions after McLaren’s double disqualification, inheriting P8.
"Mixed feelings on my side," said Leclerc. "I am not satisfied finishing P6, but if I look back at my race, I didn’t leave anything on the table, I had some good battles and took the right risks, so on a personal note, I am satisfied with my performance today.
"The first stint was entertaining with good overtakes, working my way forward, but after our stop, it became more difficult. Our straight-line speed was not the strongest, so it was difficult to fight with our competitors.
"I made up for it a bit with how I was braking, but with Oscar (Piastri) in Kimi’s (Antonelli) DRS, it was difficult to catch them to try and gain more places.
"We have two more races to go and we want to close the season on a high, bringing home a win for everyone in our team. I will give it everything."
Pushed on to reveal why Ferrari keeps struggling in wet conditions, Leclerc failed to offer an explanation but has urged the Italian marque to try and find a solution for those conditions.
"We've got to really work on our wet pace because it's been too many times the case of us being on the back foot and we are paying the price at the end of the year," added Leclerc.
"When you look at all the wet Qualifying, all the wet races, we are just leaving too many points on the table. This is for sure a priority that I'll set myself from now on. It was already one but probably now it's even higher because we are struggling too much."
