Charles Leclerc finished fourth in the Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring after attempting an offbeat strategy with Hard tires.
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The Monegasque believes that Ferrari made the best possible choice given his starting position and the absence of new Medium tires, even though the safety car he hoped for at the end of the race never arrived.
Ferrari had to deal with a delicate tire situation even before the start of the Spanish Grand Prix. The team no longer had new Medium tires and therefore chose to split strategies between its two drivers: Lewis Hamilton started on Softs and Leclerc opted for the Hards.
A good pace
A bold decision for the Monegasque, since warming up this compound was one of the main difficulties on the Madring: “Starting on Hard tires was a bit of a risk because it was difficult to get them up to temperature. But the pace was good, these are tires that don’t degrade much,” explains Leclerc.
The strategy was meant to allow Ferrari to significantly extend its first stint and take advantage of a possible neutralization. But the course of the race ultimately did not play in his favor.
Hamilton’s retirement and the appearance of a virtual safety car notably disrupted the Monegasque’s plans. Leclerc continued his stint hoping for the intervention of a real safety car later in the race, which would have given him a chance to benefit from his strategy.
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It never came: “We waited for a safety car that never arrived until the end of the race, but it was the best thing we could do starting from where we started, so we have no regrets. ”
Ferrari is not the fourth force
Leclerc ultimately finished fourth, behind a representative of each of the other three leading teams. A hierarchy that might suggest Ferrari was the fourth force of the weekend, which the Monegasque disputes.
He notably recalls that he did not have the latest evolution of the Ferrari power unit in Madrid. His crash in Monza forced the team to modify its program and Leclerc was running with an older specification, losing some performance.
“Honestly, I don’t think so. We had a bit more potential in qualifying yesterday, but I had a slightly older engine and I was losing some performance. So I think the car was good today, and this weekend in general.”
The Ferrari driver nevertheless acknowledges his own responsibility for not maximizing the available potential: “But that’s how it is, I can only blame myself. We will try to bounce back in the next races, but it’s super tight so those who have the best package come out ahead. That was the case for Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes, and we will try to be the next time. ”
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