It’s been settled. Charles Leclerc can officially never catch a break. The chances of Ferrari carrying on the momentum it gained at the Canadian GP seem to be getting less likely even before the weekend in Austria has started. After winning the race at the Red Bull Ring last year, Leclerc and Ferrari would’ve been hoping for a repeat, or at least a podium at the very least. But in typical Ferrari fashion, the team has already given its supporters something to dread. 

Once every team arrives in the circuit’s paddock, they start unpacking and setting up their cars, garages, and pit walls. While this process is usually seamless—with teams having to do this at every venue for each race weekend—Ferrari discovered a problem with Leclerc’s car, and weekend running hasn’t even started yet.

Per a post on Twitter, when Ferrari started setting up Charles’ car on Thursday, the mechanics were having trouble removing his right rear wheel. The post was captioned, “Ferrari is having trouble removing charles’ right rear wheel (after a problem) and it’s not even friday yet 😭😭,” expressing exactly what the Tifosi and Charles’ fans must be going through now. 

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Considering how the Austrian GP is a Sprint weekend—and the fact that there are two qualifying sessions and two races—with more points up for grabs, fans just hope that Leclerc’s team finding this error and trying to fix it wasn’t opening Pandora’s box. While the Scuderia was working to fix the problem, Ferrari fans bonded over shared trauma on the Twitter post.

Ferrari fans go through “torture” more often than not

It hasn’t been easy for Ferrari fans over the past few years. After having a car that competed regularly for wins in 2019, the Maranello outfit built a barely competitive car over the next three seasons. And in 2022, after the regulation changes, the drivers and the Tifosi were thrilled to see the team back at the front of the field. At least until it lasted. The mechanical issues, flawed strategies, and driver errors started creeping in, and they seem to have continued into this season.

So when fans saw the post about Charles’ rear wheel issue in Austria on Thursday, they couldn’t help but bash the team for being consistent in quashing their hopes (but not in terms of its on-track performance). With some problem or another arising almost every race weekend, one fan expressed the torture of supporting Ferrari.

A few fans expressed how the weekend hasn’t even started, and Ferrari is already having problems. Some even mentioned that it’s always Leclerc’s car that bears the brunt, and he never catches a break.

The post also featured a picture of Charles on the pit wall, and he didn’t look particularly upbeat, given his situation.

Last week, Leclerc visited a priest in Italy who told him he prays for the driver from time to time. A fan probably used that reference to ask others to pray for the Monegasque.

While most fans were freaking out about the issue, some were hopeful, writing hopefully that the team wouldn’t have any problems throughout the weekend considering that they’ll sort everything out before running begins. Well, they can only hope.

Another fan mentioned how they heard the issue has been fixed, and the car should be okay now.

But one fan refused to believe the reports were even true. That’s what every Ferrari fan wants.

Will Charles Leclerc and Ferrari’s problems continue into the weekend, or will everything be fine, and that Leclerc, along with Carlos Sainz, will capitalize on their ongoing momentum?

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