Charles Leclerc has been having a strange weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix so far. The Ferrari driver could not put in a lap in SQ3 on Friday afternoon and his sprint race performance did not yield as much of a recovery as he may have hoped for. Yet, Leclerc has found some silver lining despite his gloomy verdict on Ferrari’s performance so far in Spielberg.
Speaking to Lawrence Barretto during F1 TV’s post-sprint show, the Monegasque said, “I felt like I want to try something in the afternoon to just risk it. But can it be worse than P7 or P8? I don’t think so.”
Now that’s how to start an #F1Sprint! @Charles_Leclerc makes up three places in five corners #F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/5Wq8SKSMdf
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 29, 2024
Leclerc highlighted how he had a great first lap and was “happy” with gaining three positions after starting from P10 on the grid. The 26-year-old ended up 10th after having stalled his car at the pit lane exit during the final part of the sprint shootout.
This put Leclerc on the backfoot with a lot of ground to cover if he wished for a good points haul in the 24-lap sprint race. Eventually, the #16 driver settled for P7 and registered two points to his name. Still, he feels that it couldn’t have been worse as Ferrari has some potential to break into the top five with the Grand Prix qualifying and race still to go.
Carlos Sainz’s pace during the sprint shootout was evidence of the same, as the Spaniard looked a threat for the first two rows. However, Sainz had to settle for P5 during both the sprint qualifying and the race, courtesy of his race-long battle with the two Mercedes. Thus, Ferrari has a lot to think about before the Austrian GP main race on Sunday.
Ferrari are on a slippery slope since Charles Leclerc’s Monaco GP win
Ferrari started the 2024 season on an extremely strong note with a heavily overhauled SF-24. The car showed great promise and pace to emerge as the closest contender to Red Bull’s RB20. Thus, their recent slump in form has come as a massive surprise.
Both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have already won a race each this season in Monaco and Australia respectively. Leclerc’s Monaco GP victory was even more significant as it got them within 24 points of Red Bull in the constructors’ standings.
TEAM STANDINGS AFTER 8 ROUNDS
Ferrari move to within striking distance of Red Bull #F1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/h95DcLXdPb
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 26, 2024
However, since the Monaco GP weekend, Ferrari have lost ground to Red Bull. A double DNF in Canada followed by an underwhelming Spanish GP has seen the Ferrari drivers finish outside the podium positions for the first time since the Chinese GP earlier this year.
Meanwhile, McLaren and Mercedes have taken major steps forward in performance and replaced Ferrari as the top contenders for challenging Red Bull. McLaren, especially, is making big gains in the constructors’ standings, and if Ferrari don’t get their act together, the team from Woking may overtake them for P2 in the standings in the next two races.
