Ferrari struggles in season opener as Leclerc reflects on tricky race

Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool

Charles Leclerc found few positives in the tough opening race of the season in Australia, finishing eighth after a challenging day. His Ferrari teammate, Lewis Hamilton, concluded the race in a disappointing 10th place.

Despite some doubts about Ferrari's form following pre-season testing, initial performance in Melbourne had hinted at potential competitiveness, with Leclerc showing promise. However, their hopes diminished during qualifying, resulting in lower starting positions.

A swift start temporarily placed Leclerc in fifth, a position he maintained for much of the race until the arrival of late rain changed the dynamics. “For a big part of the race we thought P5 was secured and then the rain arrived and everything changed,” Leclerc explained.

The tricky weather conditions led to Leclerc spinning at Turn 11, causing him to lose several positions. The timing of their pit stop strategies during the switch to intermediate tires proved costly, dropping both Ferraris further down the order.

Reflecting on the race, Leclerc acknowledged the challenges and the need for improvement. "There are things we have to review and work on. We weren’t the fastest out there but in such weather conditions, there was a chance of scoring some big points which we didn’t capitalize on today," he said.

Despite overtaking Hamilton and managing to climb to eighth, Leclerc expressed disappointment with the outcome. “It has been a tricky day overall, but we will look into it. It is only the first race of the season, yes it is not the first race we would have hoped for but looking forward we need to re-motivate ourselves for Shanghai and recover from what was a disappointing first weekend,” he added.

Looking ahead, Leclerc remains focused on improvement. "If you look at the pace of the McLaren it was unbelievable, even more strong than yesterday. We have to look into it, but we are on the back foot. But it is only race one out of 24, there are many other races, so we need to stay calm and keep working in the right direction."

Ferrari is now setting sights on the upcoming races, aiming to learn from the Australian Grand Prix and striving for better results in the future.

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