Ferrari flops, Charles Leclerc speaks out: ‘I’m not surprised’

A very difficult Sunday, welcomed without too much astonishment.

Charles Leclerc chews bitterly on the seventh place collected by his Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (finished by teammate Carlos Sainz ahead of him and only sixth). The Monegasque, however, says after the race that he is not at all surprised to see his single-seater so far behind the Red Bulls and behind even Aston Martin and Mercedes.

“Honestly, the first run was very good. Or at least good for our current situation,” Leclerc told ‘Sky Sport’ microphones. “I also did a good job on tire management, which was a bit of our main concern since I was starting with softs. We did a good job on that, though. Then, with the hard, on this track if you’re not in DRS you lose a lot. So I stayed about a second and a half behind for the rest of the race.

“The last five laps I just thought about bringing the car home and taking the points. In the end there was nothing more we could have won,” Leclerc later admitted. “At the moment that’s how it is. However, there is a lot of work to be done, because if we look at the goal we want to achieve there is still a long way to go.”

Leclerc, moreover, appeared as said to be little surprised by his Ferrari’s current difficulties. “It’s not a complete surprise,” he said, “In fact, honestly it’s not a surprise. After Bahrain we were behind on degradation, I just thought that on race pace we were closer to Red Bull. Unfortunately, we are not, and we have to work on that. In two weeks we have Australia, then there will be three where we hope to find something that will prove important throughout the season.”