After shedding a spot to George Russell firstly whereas combating Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz, Leclerc made early progress utilizing a one-stop technique to maneuver as much as fourth place.
However having been predicted to be the group closest to Purple Bull on race tempo, each Ferraris have been unable to make any additional positive factors, as Leclerc completed off the rostrum – 4.5s off Sergio Perez in third and practically 10s off McLaren’s Lando Norris in second.
Leclerc didn’t perceive Ferrari’s tempo drop on the hards, having switched his mediums for this compound after 21 laps, which left him unable to problem the podium finishers.
“I do not assume we discovered it [the pace] as a group, particularly on the arduous tyres, which is a bit unusual as a result of the power of this automotive because the starting of the yr is it’s extremely stable in all circumstances with all tyres,” Leclerc mentioned.
“Immediately is a bit an outlier as a result of as quickly as we placed on the hards, we have been half a second off. In order that could be very unusual. We’ll look into it and attempt to perceive what went incorrect on that run.”
Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari
Picture by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
After his pitstop and as soon as the 2 security automotive intervals completed, Leclerc mentioned he was aiming to battle Norris and subsequently a possible runner-up end, however simply couldn’t match the tempo of the McLaren or Purple Bull on the arduous tyres.
“It’s totally unusual, particularly in contrast with the McLaren. With Lando at first, I actually thought we have been going to combat with him,” he added.
“I used to be doing good tyre administration till the protection automotive that reset it a bit bit, all methods, which is a little bit of a disgrace as a result of I feel we have been doing an excellent job after which, on the arduous, we have been simply sluggish.
“We have been anticipating this weekend to be very comparable or in step with no matter we have seen because the starting of the season, however we have been struggling fairly a bit extra.”