Charles Leclerc faced a challenging decision during the Chinese Grand Prix after sustaining front wing damage following an opening lap contact with his Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton.
A slightly misjudged move on the entry into Shanghai Turn 3 saw the Monegasque’s Ferrari
graze Hamilton’s car, shearing off the endplate of his front wing.
Despite the damage, Leclerc opted to stay out, driven by a fear of losing precious track position he might never reclaim.
Race engineer Bryan Bozzi quickly radioed the damage assessment: Leclerc was down "20-30 points of downforce," a loss that could sap 0.2-0.3 seconds per lap.
Yet Leclerc, cool under pressure, reckoned he could manage. Pitting to swap the wing would cost eight seconds – a lifetime in F1 – and he wasn’t willing to gamble his position in a field where overtaking proved a stubborn beast.
Weighing the Risks
Leclerc’s choice wasn’t made lightly, as he explained when all was said and done.
"Of course we are speaking about a big [downforce] loss on my car, so there was for sure the potential to do a lot better," he told Sky post-race.
"We didn't want to take the eight seconds at the pitstop of changing the front wing, because then I will need to overtake cars and we were very weak in Turn 12.
"That was making us very vulnerable with the cars behind and it was very, very difficult to make any overtakes because on the way up to Turn 14 we were just too far off," he explained.
"I didn't want to take that risk - I just wanted to keep track position and try to maximise the result."
His pace backed up the gamble. Outpacing Hamilton despite the handicap, Ferrari swapped their drivers’ order, freeing Leclerc to hunt George Russell ahead. He closed to within DRS range, only for a lock-up at Turn 14 to halt his charge.
Still, the decision to stay out kept him in the fight, even as the damaged wing began to exact a toll.
Unfortunately, the tyre degradation on the hard compound also became a significant issue toward the end of the race, with the increased strain from the damaged wing wearing out the front tyres more rapidly.
Leclerc Unfazed by Contact
When asked about the collision with Hamilton, Leclerc was quick to dismiss any blame, calling it a simple racing incident.
"Honestly, I think it wasn't that quick," he said. "I mean, it felt really bad. I think we were generally quick, we've seen it yesterday with Lewis, myself we saw it towards the end of the sprint where I was very strong."
Despite the challenges, Leclerc remained optimistic about the race pace Ferrari demonstrated throughout the weekend.
"All in all, I think we had a really good race car, and today I did a step with the car, and I think that made it a lot better for today."
Ferrari’s Verdict
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur also weighed in on the decision to leave Leclerc out on track.
He noted that the car’s performance with the damaged wing was better than expected, allowing Leclerc to remain competitive despite the loss of downforce.
"The positives are the pole of Lewis, the win of Lewis [in the sprint], and I would say the pace of Charles during the race with the front wing damage," Vasseur said. "[With] the loss of downforce that we had, the pace was mega."
However, Vasseur acknowledged that tyre degradation became a problem toward the end of the race, as the damage increased the stress on the front tires. Despite this, he praised Leclerc’s determination and the race result.
"But at the end, overall we finished 20 seconds behind the McLaren with this damage. I think it's a very good result and very strong result."
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