F1 News: Charles Leclerc Laments 'Nightmare' Ferrari Performance After British GP Disappointment

Saajan Jogia | Jul 8, 2024

Jun 8, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc (MCO) in the pit lane at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc expressed deep disappointment after being lapped by the race leaders during the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, where he finished 14th. During the last four Grands Prix, the Monegasque driver's luck on track has taken a nose-dive, prompting him to question his team's recent race strategies.

Ferrari has often made questionable strategy calls, as seen at Silverstone, where Charles Leclerc started 11th. When it began to rain, he was called in too soon on lap 20 for intermediate tires. However, the race line mostly remained dry, which caused the SF-24 to eat up all the Pirelli rubber.

Things had just started to look up for Leclerc after his home race victory in Monaco. But soon after, he faced severe challenges in every Grand Prix. He finished fifth in Spain, retired in Canada, missed out on a point with an 11th-place finish in Austria after sustaining damage on the opening lap, and then finished 14th yesterday.

Ferrari's Spanish GP upgrade package was doing no good either, as both drivers Leclerc and Carlos Sainz encountered bouncing problems on the car. Thus, the team reverted to the Imola spec SF-24 for the British Grand Prix.

However, Leclerc's setback isn't just attributed to performance problems but also to the team's questionable decisions, as witnessed at Silverstone. The 26-year-old driver found it difficult to explain the problem to the media after the British GP. He told RacingNews365:

"It's very hard, I don't really know how else to explain it.

"But it's been four races that it's been worse than a nightmare. I hope we can come back soon."

Leclerc admitted it was tough to find a silver lining and expressed his desire to analyze the situation with his team. He added:

"It's very difficult to look at the positives, I just want to go back with the team and analyze the way we are making those decisions on my side and why we were on the wrong side."