Charles Leclerc on Lewis Hamilton deficit: ‘I’m not doing the right things in the car’
“I mean the potential is there clearly because Lewis is using it.”
Charles Leclerc is refusing to make excuses for his deficit to Lewis Hamilton after the sprint race at the F1 Chinese Grand Prix.
Leclerc could only finish fifth in the 19-lap sprint race at the Shanghai International Circuit, 12 seconds off race winner Hamilton.
The Monegasque maintained fourth on the line but lost a place to George Russell into the hairpin on Lap 1.
Russell resisted Leclerc’s late charge, with Ferrari seemingly having superior tyre wear to their rivals.
Leclerc's race was disappointing, particularly in comparison to Hamilton, who won by over six seconds.
Speaking after the sprint, Leclerc admitted that he’s not “doing the right things in the car” and that Hamilton is simply doing a better job of extracting more from the Ferrari.
“I mean the potential is there clearly because Lewis is using it,” Leclerc told Sky Sports. “I am not. I have got some work to do.
“Historically I am struggling like crazy but that’s not an excuse. You’ve got to learn and it doesn’t seem like I am doing the right things in the car.
“We’ve got this afternoon to try and turn this situation around still and tomorrow is the main race. I hope we can find something. I went in a slightly different configuration compared to Lewis but I don’t think there’s much in that.
“We will try to go towards his direction and I will try to improve my driving for this afternoon.”
Ferrari hit back in Shanghai
It’s a remarkable turnaround from Ferrari, who left the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as the fourth-fastest team.
Leclerc and Hamilton could only qualify seventh and eighth, respectively, at Albert Park.
Both drivers were beaten by Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon in Melbourne qualifying.
The race was also a disaster as Ferrari mistimed the switch to intermediates.
This meant they came away from Australia with a P8 and P10 finish, their worst start to a season since 2009.
However, Ferrari appear to be the team to beat heading into Sunday’s race in Shanghai.
McLaren underperformed in sprint qualifying, while Lando Norris made a crucial error on the opening lap of the sprint event.
Norris and Oscar Piastri looked like they had the pace for pole position.
With track position so crucial due to high front tyre degradation, the battle for pole will likely decide which driver wins on Sunday.
With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and storylines, Connor is the heartbeat of our unbiased reporting.
