Charles Leclerc conquered third place in the 2024 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix. The dominant force of the weekend was someone else entirely. Ferrari, on the other hand, seemed to be the strongest competitor to Red Bull, but finished over 18 seconds behind the leader. The issue that slowed down the Ferrari team was revealed.
During the Bahrain race, Leclerc had already mentioned a problem with the SF-24. However, in Saudi Arabia, he qualified on the front row and managed to split the Red Bull pair. This resulted in his first place on the podium under the Arabian night sky. Despite this achievement, Leclerc still believes that Ferrari is far behind the Austrian team.
Leclerc expressed his thoughts on the car’s performance compared to the Red Bulls. He explained that the SF-24 struggles to heat up its tires, while the previous car excelled in that area. The lack of tire heat generation in the 2024 car may be the reason for Leclerc’s average or below-average starts.
After the race in Saudi Arabia, Leclerc voiced his complaints about the 2024 car. There were speculations that Ferrari could bring improvements to enhance their chances of winning the championship. However, Leclerc does not believe that any improvements will be introduced in Australia.
When asked about the possibility of improvements for the race in Melbourne, Leclerc made it clear that he does not expect any. Teams focused on the floor edges and sidepods during the winter break, and it was expected that Ferrari would explore more in-depth aerodynamic concepts. However, it seems that no improvements will be ready for the next race.
Despite the challenges, Leclerc had a successful weekend in Saudi Arabia and is expected to be the closest rival to the dominant Austrian team throughout the season. Fans around the world are hoping to see the difference between the two teams decrease and witness an exciting battle between these giants of the sport.
