Following Charles Leclerc’s bizarre performance at the recent Spanish Grand Prix, Ferrari have reportedly not found any “physical” issues with his SF-23, despite the Monegasque’s claims that the car was “undriveable”.
Leclerc’s weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was certainly an odd one, with the 25-year-old having seemingly lost all pace in qualifying.
Whilst he was never threatening the leaders during free practice, Leclerc was expected to make Q3 based on the pace he demonstrated.
Come qualifying though, and he was visibly struggling to control his car, resulting in a shock Q1 elimination.
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Leclerc could only claim P19; however, he started from the pits after Ferrari changed the entire rear of his car.
The Maranello-based team were baffled as to what the problem was, with the changes having been done more in hope that the car would magically improve.
His car was better during the race, but he still struggled to make the sort of progress you’d expect from a Ferrari driver.
Leclerc recovered to P11, cementing a third race this season without a points finish.
Since the Spanish GP, Ferrari have continued to investigate what caused Leclerc’s problems; albeit, unsuccessfully.
Ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, Ferrari have concluded that it was likely a set-up fault, rather than a broken part.
“Charles Leclerc’s car was inspected in Maranello without finding any significant ‘physical’ breakdowns or malfunctions,” Formu1a.uno’s report read.
“It is likely that some setting betrayed the Monegasque in qualifying, then returned to place with the total reset of the set-up in parc fermé.”
Ferrari are in desperate need of some good fortune, given how quickly they’re slipping away from the fight to claim a top three in the Constructors’ Championship.
Despite this, Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna isn’t worried or stressed about the team’s current performances.
Vigna was at Le Mans to watch Ferrari claim their first overall win at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 58 years, where he addressed the manufacturer’s commitment to F1 and WEC.
“It once again demonstrates that Ferrari is unique and that we make unparalleled cars. It is a unique car,” Vigna told Eurosport.
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“The next goal? To continue winning. Was the bad start of the season in Formula 1 stressful for me?
“You know, I have more significant reasons for stress. For the team, this is a chance to improve and learn a lot. We must build a machine that will be better than the previous one, but this rule is true for everything we do.
“Sport is very important for us, racing is in the DNA of our company. So Formula 1, World Endurance Championship, we will keep investing there because we see a lot of technologies that can go from the track to the road.”