Leclerc insists Ferrari ‘have got to work’ on SF-26’s qualifying pace

Charles Leclerc has no complaints about Ferrari’s race-day strength. The problem is getting the SF-25 into the position from which that strength can actually matter.

After finishing second in Saturday’s sprint, Leclerc could manage only sixth in qualifying for Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix, leaving him with plenty of work to do on a Zandvoort circuit where overtaking is notoriously difficult.

The Monegasque’s frustration was compounded by the fact that Ferrari’s pace in the longer runs has generally been considerably more encouraging than its one-lap performance.

“It’s definitely a tendency where we seem to be faster in the race than we are in qualifying, and qualifying most of the time is a bit more of a struggle,” he admitted.

“Yesterday was a bit of an exception, and we were strong in qualifying, but otherwise we always seem to be a bit on the back foot.”

Ferrari needs the complete package

Leclerc knows Ferrari cannot simply transfer some of its race pace into qualifying and expect the problem to disappear.

Finding one-lap performance is more complicated than moving a few settings around, although he would still rather have a car that comes alive over a race distance than one that looks spectacular on Saturday before fading on Sunday.

“We’ve got to work on that, but as I was saying this morning in the press conference, it’s not black and white, and it’s not as easy as saying, OK, I’ll take a little bit from the race and put it in qualifying or vice versa,” he added.

“We’re trying to make the car as fast as possible, but for the characteristics we have, it works a little bit better in the race than in qualifying.

“I prefer that way to the other way, but on a track like this, it doesn’t help.”

That last point is particularly important at Zandvoort. With the narrow layout offering precious few overtaking opportunities, starting position carries extra weight – meaning Ferrari’s race pace could prove difficult to exploit from the third row.

Rain could throw Ferrari a lifeline

The weather may nevertheless provide Leclerc with a way back into contention. Intermittent rain has already complicated the weekend, and further wet conditions could turn Sunday into a strategic lottery.

“It’s going to be tricky, especially because, as we’ve seen in the last few days, it’s not that it’s raining for two hours and then it’s raining for ten minutes, then sun, then ten minutes, so it might make an interesting race,” commented the Monegasque.

• Read also: Leclerc admits Sprint race tyre gamble was ‘right or wrong’ choice

Asked whether that unpredictability appealed to him, Leclerc needed little time to decide.

“Well, starting P6, I would, yes,” he concluded.

A chaotic race may be precisely what Ferrari needs. But Leclerc’s candid assessment also underlines the problem: ideally, the Scuderia would not need the weather to rescue a qualifying deficit in the first place.

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