Leclerc and Hamilton Agree on Ferrari's Dramatic Slump in Qatar

Charles Leclerc has been feeling a worrying drop-off with his Ferrari in the Sprint Race at the GP Qatar.

It was a disappointing Sprint Race for both Ferrari drivers at the Lusail Circuit.

Starting from the ninth position on the grid, the opening lap was a bit rough for Leclerc, moving him to 13th place, where he struggled to control his SF-25.

Lewis Hamilton chose to start from the pit lane after being knocked out of SQ1. However, the seven-time world champion couldn't make any progress from behind the pack, getting stuck in the DRS train.

After the sprint, Hamilton was heard telling his team through the radio: "I don't know how we made the car worse,"

Differently from Hamilton, Leclerc couldn't make any adjustments to the car settings because he started from his original grid position.

Even if he retained the same car settings as in qualifying, Leclerc was puzzled by how hard it was to drive his Ferrari.

"Of course. I don't know how it changed from qualifying to today," Leclerc told Sky Sports. "The feeling has totally changed compared to yesterday, and I don't know where it came from. I will definitely experience it tonight and we will see later,"

"I agree with Lewis that today was extremely difficult, almost saying it was worse. The first lap...

"I struggled to keep the car in line and lost four or five positions, and then there were many mistakes. It was very difficult to drive. I don't entirely understand what happened there,"

Former F1 strategist Bernie Collins believes Leclerc's response will alarm Ferrari, given the minimal changes made to the car since Sprint Qualifying.

“I think one of the most interesting things, listening to both drivers, is that we know Lewis replaced his car.

“He started from the pit lane, so hearing him say ‘we made it worse today’ isn't too surprising because you know they made some changes," Collins clarified.

“Leclerc didn't start from the pit lane. He started in his grid position with the same settings as yesterday and maybe some slight changes to the front wing. His car settings should be roughly the same.

“What changed? There's extra fuel in the car. The front wing's angle and tire setup are different. How is it possible that the car is so much harder to drive today? I can understand Lewis, but what happened to Charles Leclerc is a bit more concerning for Ferrari,”

Derry is an Editor for the Indonesian Edition who began working with Crash.net in 2021.

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