Charles Leclerc believes that Ferrari had the pace necessary to aim for the podium at the Dutch Grand Prix. Fifth at the finish, the Monegasque mainly regrets his qualifying and explains his strategic disagreement with his team.
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Charles Leclerc did not hide his disappointment after his fifth place at the Dutch Grand Prix. Ferrari showed competitiveness throughout the weekend at Zandvoort, but the Monegasque feels that his final result does not reflect the potential of the SF-26.
Second in the Sprint after also playing a leading role during the Sprint qualifying, Leclerc then only obtained sixth place on the Grand Prix grid. A poor performance which, according to him, largely conditioned the rest of his weekend.
“I am disappointed, we are disappointed as a team. It was a weekend where we were quite strong, we showed it in the Sprint and in Sprint Qualifying. But we lost the race yesterday in qualifying, we did not optimize the full potential of the car.”
Leclerc believes a podium was possible
Starting from the third row, Leclerc immediately gained ground at the start before finding himself fourth. He then had to battle with Oscar Piastri, whom he eventually managed to overtake.
The Ferrari driver however considers that starting so far behind the McLaren and Mercedes made the task much more difficult for him.
“Starting behind, it was complicated to come back. I had a good first start that gained me two places, I lost one and took it back from Piastri later, but unfortunately the virtual safety car was not a gift for me.”
The virtual neutralization caused by Esteban Ocon’s retirement indeed disrupted the end of the race. Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli notably took advantage of it to make a pit stop at a lower cost.
Leclerc prefers to put things into perspective after having benefited from more favorable circumstances before the summer break.
“I had quite a bit of luck during the three or four races before the break. It’s motorsport, sometimes it goes our way, sometimes not.”
Why Leclerc did not immediately obey Ferrari
One of the most notable episodes of the race concerns Ferrari’s strategy. When his team asked him to pit, Leclerc initially preferred to stay on track.
This decision also had consequences for Hamilton, who quickly caught up with his teammate thanks to fresher tires. The Briton was particularly annoyed on the radio, feeling he was losing precious time.
Leclerc explains that his choice corresponded to a strategy discussed with Ferrari before the start.
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“I wanted to stay longer on track, we had discussed our preferences before the race and that was mine. The team asked me to pit at the beginning of the lap, then asked me to stay out and I pitted two laps later.”
For the Monegasque, stopping only a few laps after George Russell came back was practically to give up any chance of beating the Mercedes thanks to a strategic offset.
“We were putting pressure on Russell and stopping two laps later means I find myself five seconds behind Russell with a stop almost at the same time, so I almost signed up to finish behind.”
No conflict with Hamilton
Hamilton then explained that he lost several seconds behind Leclerc and that this episode potentially weighed in his fight for the podium. The seven-time world champion finished fourth after narrowly failing to overtake Russell in the last laps.
Leclerc is however not worried about possible internal tensions after the particularly heated radio exchanges.
“Sometimes there is frustration on my side, sometimes there is frustration on Lewis’s side, but we generally get along very well so there will be no problems about that.”
The Ferrari driver nevertheless maintains that he would have preferred to extend his stint further.
“I felt there was still some potential left in my tires.”
Ferrari awaits its upgrades at Monza
Ferrari finally leaves Zandvoort with Hamilton fourth and Leclerc fifth, a solid result but below the ambitions displayed given the pace shown by the SF-26.
The next meeting will be particularly important since Formula 1 will go to Monza, in front of the tifosi. Leclerc remains cautious about Ferrari’s chances of fighting for victory.
“If you ask me today, I would say it will probably be a difficult weekend.”
One element could however change the situation: Ferrari must introduce new upgrades on its car in Italy.
“We will have upgrades, and I hope they will work.”
After showing a level of performance above expectations on some fast circuits this season, Leclerc therefore wants to keep hope of seeing Ferrari involved in the fight for victory at home.
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