Charles Leclerc's weekend in Sao Paulo was unfortunately a stark contrast to Ferrari's recent triumphs in Austin and Mexico.
While the Scuderia had shown strong pace in the previous races, its SF-24 struggled to adapt to the wet and changeable conditions in Brazil.
Starting sixth on the grid, Leclerc made a solid start, moving up to fifth. However, the Ferrari's lack of grip on Pirelli’s intermediate tyres hampered his progress.
The Monegasque found himself stuck behind Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon, which compelled his team to pit him in a bid to undercut his rivals.
Unfortunately, a subsequent virtual safety car period and a red flag disrupted Ferrari's calculated plan, neutralizing any potential gains from Leclerc’s early stop.
Despite the setback, the Scuderia charger executed a sharp restart, launching a double overtake on Lando Norris and George Russell to secure fourth behind Max Verstappen and the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.
But that fourth-place position proved temporary, as Russell’s Mercedes overtook him once again, pushing him back to fifth where he would remain until the checkered flag.
"It was a very long and tricky race and the drivers on the podium today are those who did not put a foot wrong, so they really deserve it,” he said.
“I have mixed feelings about our race. On the one hand, it was a bit disappointing because we struggled to keep the car on track in these conditions, especially towards the end of the race, due to the way that we decided to set up our car for today.
"On the other hand, we finished ahead of both McLarens, which was a positive surprise and helps in our battle in the Constructors’ championship.”
Leclerc acknowledged the costly nature of Ferrari bringing him in early.
“That was a mistake,” he told the media, quoted by Motorsport Week. “It needs to be said as well that on a race like this, it’s very difficult to not do any mistakes in terms of strategy, because there are so many calls that you need to do.
While Ferrari’s strategy was intended to free him from the congestion, the complex pit timings in the rain threw off their calculations.
“I wanted free air, so I asked the team to find free air,” he explained. “They boxed me that lap, but unfortunately, the pit entry and the pit exit time in the wet was a lot longer than what we thought,”
“I ended up in the middle of traffic with Ollie [Bearman] and Lewis, and from that moment I knew that we were losing so much. There was a Safety Car, and we lost like three, four positions.”
©Ferrari
On the other side of the Ferrari garage, it was a weekend to forget for Carlos Sainz, highlighted by two crashes – one in qualifying and another during the race itself.
Fighting for a position outside of the points zone on lap 39, Sainz lost control and made contact with the barriers, bringing his race to a premature end.
Struggling with the car's handling in the wet conditions throughout the weekend, Sainz admitted his limitations.
"Definitely a Sunday to forget for me," Sainz said. "I'm sorry to have given the team extra work on a day that was already super long. I've struggled with this car in the wet this year, and today I just didn't have the right feeling either."
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