After a difficult qualifying session in Zandvoort, Ferrari bounced back in the race to secure a podium, courtesy of Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque driver is happy and admits that his team made a step forward, but is not quite sure why that happened.
On BBC’s F1: Chequered Flag podcast, Leclerc revealed that Ferrari — among other teams — improved its performance on race day. Ahead of the Dutch GP, he wasn’t sure that a podium result was on the cards since he started P6. But he managed third place, which was a good comeback for Ferrari, after a difficult few weeks leading up to the summer break.
When asked if Leclerc was afraid of the reason behind Ferrari’s strong pace remaining unknown, he replied,
“I’m not fearful. But yes, we definitely need to analyze. And consider that as much of an issue as when you have a bad day and don’t understand it. There’s something that we don’t quite understand that we need to understand.”
Figuring out the reason behind their sudden success would help them unlock the potential they don’t know they have yet.
Regardless, Leclerc did not take anything away from his team. He admitted that it was a “good day” for the team. Why it was so would be analyzed before the Italian GP.
Strong comeback for Ferrari
Leclerc was not the only Ferrari driver who had a strong Dutch GP. His teammate, Carlos Sainz also finished P5 despite starting P10.
After the race, Sainz recalled the poor start Ferrari had to the Zandvoort weekend, and admitted that ending the Dutch GP on a happy note was not something he had expected. He took to X (formerly Twitter) to write,
“We executed a very solid race with good overtakes and a fast pace.”
From P10 to P5. We didn’t expect to have such a positive race, specially after a difficult start of the weekend. We executed a very solid race with good overtakes and a fast pace. Now I can’t wait to race in front of our Tifosi!
–#CarlosSainz pic.twitter.com/EFqxrnNd5T
— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) August 25, 2024
Leclerc finishing P3 and Sainz P5 meant Ferrari left the track with 25 points, just one lesser than Red Bull. This good performance also came at a good time as the Maranello-based outfit’s next race takes place in Monza, in front of its passionate home fans — the Tifosi.
