P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Charles Leclerc has been left with more questions than answers over his “slow” stint on hard tyres at the Chinese Grand Prix prevented him from fighting with the McLaren of Lando Norris.
Following the Chinese Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc expressed his disappointment with Ferrari’s unexpected lack of race pace, which he described as an “outlier” due to struggles on hard tyres that hindered his competitiveness against Lando Norris. Despite initially aiming for a podium finish, Leclerc finished in fourth place after facing challenges during the race and being unable to fight with the McLarens as anticipated. The safety car periods disrupted Ferrari’s strategy, leading to difficulties on the hard compound Pirelli tyres that compromised their performance. Leclerc admitted that they would need to analyze what went wrong with their setup and tire management in order to improve for future races, as the team had expected their car to perform better based on previous rounds. Despite McLaren’s unexpectedly strong showing, Leclerc refrained from drawing definitive conclusions on the team’s progress, instead focusing on addressing Ferrari’s own shortcomings and regaining their competitive edge moving forward.
