F1 News: Charles Leclerc Pinpoints Ferrari Weakness After Pitiful Monaco GP

Charles Leclerc reveals Ferrari's weaknesses in tyre management after a disappointing Monaco Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc has expressed disappointment after another weekend of poor performance in his home of Monaco while identifying the main issue with the difficult-to-drive Ferrari SF-23. Despite defending the team's strategic decision, the Monegasque acknowledges the need for improvement in the car's tyre management. Ferrari's performance in the Monaco Grand Prix serves as a learning experience for the team moving forward.

As a team, Ferrari is far from perfect right now, with yet more strategy issues. But in an interview with Sky Sports F1, Leclerc revealed the team's weakest point, emphasising that it lies not in their strategic decisions but in tyre management instead.

"We struggled towards the end of the stint with the hard tires, but it was strange because the tires were fine before. I was saving the rear tires but then we struggled," expressed Leclerc. 

"There is no doubt that there is a lot of work to do, tire management remains our weak point."

The young Ferrari driver wasn't able to invest in the clean air in front of his car - a rarity at the tight and short Monaco track - due to his tyres. He swapped to the intermediate tyres too late in the race, and this cost him a number of positions. Not a great outcome when you consider he also lost three places before the race even began for impeding McLaren's Lando Norris. 

"When it started to rain, we were aware of the risks we could take by staying on the track.

"Now that the race is over, I can say that I could have entered earlier, but in those rainy conditions and with so many cars on the track, mounting slicks, it pays to stay out several times, wait for the Safety Car, and then go to the pits," Leclerc explained.

"But the Safety Car never came, and we lost positions there. It was a choice."

Leclerc finished the race in P6 with his teammate Carlos Sainz finishing P8. It was a bad, bad day for Ferrari, only made worse by the stellar job Red Bull did.