Ferrari’s race at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix didn’t quite go as planned, according to Charles Leclerc.
Charles Leclerc acknowledged that Ferrari’s power strategy during qualifying for the Formula 1 Imola Grand Prix compromised their race results. Despite promising Friday practice sessions, Ferrari seemed slower compared to competitors during qualifying.
GPS data revealed that Leclerc’s car was about 3-4 km/h slower on the straights than the McLarens and even further behind polesitter Max Verstappen, who gained an advantage from Nico Hulkenberg’s tow.
Leclerc explained, ‘We lost everything at the launch of our lap due to a slightly different power strategy compared to McLaren and Red Bull. This resulted in losing ground on the run down to Turn 2, especially since Max had the benefit of a slipstream.’ He emphasized that track position is crucial, particularly at Imola, where the margin between Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari is minimal.
Despite missing out on a better qualifying position, the upgrades Ferrari introduced—new bodywork, floor, and wings—showed promising results in terms of data, matching the team’s expectations. ‘It’s challenging to judge upgrades at a track like Imola because kerb-riding can obscure the car’s true performance, but the upgrades did exactly what we anticipated,’ Leclerc noted.
While Ferrari fell short of a better finish, the data confirms that their updates are working as expected. The focus now shifts to optimizing strategies and improvements to maximize performance in future races.
