Leclerc blindsided by McLaren top speed amid rear wing intrigue

Charles Leclerc believes that McLaren’s top speed – boosted by the MCL38’s “controversial” rear wing – was a crucial factor in his defeat in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the hands of Oscar Piastri.

The Ferrari driver took a commanding lead in the first part of the race in Baku, but was overhauled by Piastri after his pit stop on lap 20 of 51.

While Leclerc remained within striking distance of the Aussie, he was unable outpace the Scuderia charger down Baku’s long straight, frustratingly coming up short with every slipstream attempt.

The Monegasque admitted that he was caught off guard by the McLaren’s velocity on the straights, even when the MCL38’s DRS was inactive.

"I mean it was a good move," Leclerc said of Piastri’s overtake. "However, as I said when I saw him going on the inside, I knew he was there. I knew it was an opportunity for him to get past, but I was not more worried than that.

"I knew that he could take the lead, but I also knew that I was at the beginning of the warm-up of the tyres, and I didn't want to push on them, so I didn't want to start going stupid in terms of how defensive I would get.”

Unfortunately for Leclerc, this conservative approach backfired due to the McLaren’s superior straight-line speed.

"However, I was wrong because obviously his straightline speed was really, really strong and after that I never had the opportunity to pass again,” he continued.

"I don't think on the attacks there was anything better I could have done. I could have done a better job defending. However, again, I didn't know how quick they were on the straights after that."

• Read also: FIA ‘closely monitoring’ McLaren flexi rear wing design

The McLaren's impressive performance on the straights has sparked a great amount of intrigue, mainly centered around the MCL38’s rear wing design.

On Monday, footage from Piastri’s rearward-facing camera emerged that clearly showed the upper element of McLaren’s rear wing flexing under load, effectively creating a ‘mini DRS’ effect and reducing drag.

While the design has passed all of the FIA’s load tests, McLaren’s rivals have called for more clarification on the legality of such flexible wing elements.

In response, the FIA has confirmed that it is reviewing data collected from Baku to determine if McLaren’s design, or similar designs from other teams, warrant an intervention.

Ahead of this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, the governing body stated that it was “closely monitoring the flexibility of bodywork on all cars and reserves the right to request teams to make modifications at any point during the season”.

When asked about McLaren’s rear wing, Leclerc confirmed that Ferrari had discussed the issue internally but chose not to delve too deeply into the matter publicly.

However, it is believed that Scuderia boss Fred Vasseur is particularly unhappy with McLaren’s contentious design.

"Yes, [there is] definitely a dialogue that we've already had," commented Leclerc.

"I mean, I think Fred will go on that matter a bit more into detail, but from what I've been told, it's controversial to say the least. So, yeah. I'll leave that here and I'll let Fred comment on it a bit further."

Looking ahead to this weekend’s round of racing at Marina Bay, Leclerc revealed that small changes had been implemented on Ferrari’s SF-24.

“We are bringing a small upgrade this weekend which I hope will help us for the rest of the season and now obviously we are going to try and take Mercedes and Red Bull,” he said.

Ferrari remains third in F1’s Constructors standings, 51 points adrift from championship leader McLaren but just 30 points behind Red Bull, with seven races to go.

But Leclerc insists the Italian outfit is managing its affairs race-by-race and not thinking about the championship.

“Not at all! We don’t think of it at all,” he said. “We are just focusing race by race, trying to maximise the potential of the car every race that we do.

“We are doing that pretty well since the summer break, so we need to keep on that trend.

“The season is still long, we still have three Sprint races, so a lot of points available for everybody. We cannot relax and start to think about what happens if we do that or this.

“We just have to focus on the process, and that’s what we are doing at the moment.”

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