Charles Leclerc had a disappointing finish in the main race in Spielberg, Austria. The Scuderia Ferrari driver struggled to perform well, despite showing good pace in qualifying and practice. Leclerc finished in 11th place, which was a highly disappointing result for him.
Leclerc has been performing well this season and currently sits in third place in the drivers’ championship, with 150 points. However, he has had a dip in form and has only scored 12 points since his impressive victory in Monaco earlier this season.
The 25-year-old driver admitted to underperforming for Ferrari at the Red Bull Ring but is determined to focus on the next race at Silverstone. Leclerc’s race in Spielberg was hampered by damage to the front wing of his car on the first lap, which significantly impacted his chances of a good result.
Leclerc also mentioned that the SF-24 had issues with instability in the high-speed corners of the Red Bull Ring, making it challenging for the drivers of the Maranello-based team. Now, he will seek to compete against McLaren and Red Bull, who have consistently performed well this season, as Formula 1 returns to Silverstone.
Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz faced his own challenges in Austria but persevered throughout the race and finished in third place on the podium. Sainz had issues with the unstable car at the Red Bull Ring throughout the three-day weekend.
After the sprint race on Saturday, Sainz expressed the need for some changes to the car to maximize performance at the high-speed circuit. However, the issues persisted during qualifying, with the SF-24 being unstable in the high-speed corners, despite being faster than the previous version of the sprint.
Despite the challenges, the 29-year-old driver delivered an tireless performance in a car visibly slower than McLaren and Red Bull. This resulted in his fifth podium of the season. Ferrari will now gather and address the issues that caused excessive instability at the Red Bull Ring, hoping to resolve them for the next race in England.
