Leclerc shocked by ‘very difficult’ recent results

Charles Leclerc has conceded that his recent results since winning the Monaco Grand Prix have been “very difficult” to accept, with Ferrari taking a step backwards since the introduction of a recent upgrade package.

Ferrari looked exceptional in the opening rounds and even took a hat-trick in Monaco; however, an upgrade package for the Spanish Grand Prix had a dramatic impact on the SF24.

Since Monaco, Ferrari has dropped from second to fourth in the standings. Leclerc has failed to score points in two of the last three races, the most recent being the Austrian Grand Prix.

It wasn’t entirely his fault, however, as the Monegasque was last at the end of the first lap after being caught between Oscar Piastri and Sergio Perez at the first corner.

In Leclerc’s eyes, Perez was too impatient approaching the first corner of the 71-lap race at the Red Bull Ring.

“I tried to back off but I feel like Checo was a bit optimistic on that one, it never really ends well in the first corner here if you try to go three abreast, already two abreast is quite tricky,” Leclerc told some media, including Racing News 365.

“So it was very difficult to ride three abreast. I didn’t know Checo was inside me, and I was just a passenger.

“And then when I braked, Checo braked even later and then once you’re there, you’re there. So I tried to handle the situation in the best possible way but it wasn’t possible.”

Required work

Since finally winning the Monaco GP, Leclerc has retired in Canada, finished fifth in Spain and then 11th in Austria last weekend.

This has had an impact on his and Ferrari’s championship hopes, although figures received by the Italian team suggest progress has been made.

Despite this, Leclerc acknowledges that some problems remain and must be resolved as quickly as possible.

“There are very few coincidences in Formula 1, especially when it comes to two consecutive weekends, so you have to look at it and analyse it,” added Leclerc.

“But the numbers we’re seeing show that we’ve made a step forward. However, there are other limitations that we need to look at to try to get rid of.”

Leclerc continued: “I didn’t expect these three results that we’ve had since Monaco. It’s been very, very difficult for the team. So there’s a lot of work to do.”