Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix was a whirlwind of chaos, but for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc it was a day of frustration that left him ruing what could have been.
Finishing eighth in the season-opener in Melbourne, two spots ahead of Lewis Hamilton, his Scuderia teammate, Leclerc believes the Italian outfit squandered a chance to shine amid the madness.
For the Monegasque, Ferrari’s strategists failed to capitalize on the treacherous conditions that defined Sunday’s drama-filled event. But the eight-time Grand Prix winner also owned up to a blunder of his own.
A Costly Gamble in the Rain
The race’s late downpour turned Albert Park into a treacherous proving ground, and Ferrari rolled the dice by keeping Leclerc on slicks as rivals bolted for intermediates.
Alas, it was a gamble that crumbled fast. While others adapted, Leclerc slipped down the order, his tyres helpless on the soaked asphalt.
“It was definitely a missed opportunity,” Leclerc told the media in Melbourne. “I mean, especially in those conditions when it’s changing and that you don’t have the pace, it’s there that you got to score the points and we didn’t today.”
©Ferrari
Hamilton, too, stayed out longer on slicks, briefly leading before pitting and settling for 10th – a small consolation for Ferrari’s woes.
Leclerc didn’t spare himself from blame, pinpointing a critical error that set the tone.
“We just… we were not fast enough at the beginning of the race when the race was kind of boring, and then once it mattered to make the right choice, we didn’t,” he said.
“But the first one to blame is my mistake out of Turn 11 because this I lost four positions or five positions, I think, and from that mistake, then it puts us on the back foot.”
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That slip up, he reckoned, cost him a shot at the podium.
“And if you look three or four positions in front, then we are third or fourth, which I think was what could be done. But it’s the way it is,” he said.
Ferrari’s Pace Deficit Exposed
Ferrari’s struggles weren’t just strategic – they were outgunned. McLaren’s Lando Norris stormed to victory, fending off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, while George Russell nabbed third for Mercedes.
Leclerc and Hamilton, meanwhile, languished in the midfield, their red machines unable to match the frontrunners.
“We were definitely very off in terms of pace compared to the McLarens and Max, so we’ll look into it, but yes, for sure we were struggling today,” Leclerc admitted.
“I mean we were pretty similar to the Mercedes in front, but that was it. Then McLaren and Red Bull were so much faster, so there’s a lot of work to be done.”
The wet chaos only muddied the picture further. With conditions flipping from damp to downpour, Ferrari couldn’t glean the insights they craved.
“About today I don’t think we’ve learned more than what we knew yesterday,” Leclerc noted. “I mean today, it’s such particular conditions that it’s very difficult to take anything out of.”
For a team banking on a strong start with Hamilton’s arrival, it was a stark wake-up call.
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