“Didn’t Expect to Be So Close”: Despite Giving Max Verstappen a Mighty Scare, Charles Leclerc Focuses on Ferrari’s Achilles Heel Before the Ultimate Test

Charles Leclerc has been there or thereabout in multiple qualifying sessions. His ability to extract one lap pace out of a car is unparalleled. His ability combined with the upgrades gave Max Verstappen a mighty scare and almost broke the fans’ hearts in Austria. However, Charles Leclerc shifts his focus toward Ferrari’s Achilles heel with the ultimate test staring him in the eyes. What was the mighty scare? What is this Achilles heel?

Ferrari made a horrific blunder at the Canadian qualifying by denying Leclerc’s request to put on slicks in changing conditions. By the time they did, it started raining again and Leclerc got out in Q2. Nevertheless, a brilliant strategy and amazing pace on Sunday saw Leclerc finish in the Top 5. Coming into the Austrian GP, Ferrari brought some major upgrades with the hope of catching Red Bull. 

Helmut Marko already suggested that Ferrari will be mighty around Austria and that was the case. Charles Leclerc finished P2 in Q3 less than a tenth of a second behind Max Verstappen in a qualifying session where lap times were getting deleted all around. During the post-race interviews, Leclerc took the opportunity to praise the people back in Maranello. Monegasque even expressed how surprised he was to be this close to Max Verstappen. 

According to the Tweet posted by @JunaidSamodien_, Charles Leclerc said after qualifying, “We were close to Max, but we didn’t expect to be so close to the Red Bulls. I want to thank everyone back at the factory for the work that they have done in the last two-three weeks to bring this package earlier than scheduled. We now have to confirm this in the race.”

However, Ferrari has shown great qualifying pace earlier in the season at Baku and it is usually the race where they struggle with tire degradation being a major issue. For the same reason, Leclerc mentioned that they need to confirm the pace during the race and shift focus on Ferrari’s Achilles heel. 

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“Red Bull has the pace”: Despite the upgrades, Charles Leclerc concerned about the Race Pace

Charles Leclerc rejected Helmut Marko’s comments regarding Ferrari being the fastest car in Montreal. Regardless, there is no getting away from the fact that they showed a solid pace in Canada. Leclerc advises that Ferrari needs to focus on consistency and move forward with the same race pace as Canada. With still many unknowns, only Sunday will tell where the teams stand. However, Red Bull seems to have the edge and will be hard to beat.

Continuing on the same thread of @JunaidSamodien_, Charles Leclerc said “Race pace looked quite good in Montreal. So, consistency is where we need to focus. We need to see on Sunday if we have the pace as Montreal, but for now Red Bull has the pace and it is going to be difficult.”

What do you think? Will Charles Leclerc bring the glory back to Scuderia and win the first race for them in over a year?

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