Leclerc left with mixed feelings, Sainz blames himself for crashing twice on Sunday
Having played only second fiddle behind the McLaren and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen on dry track, Ferrari endured a tough Sunday at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc finishing down in fifth place while his team-mate Carlos Sainz crashed out midway through the race.
Having secured P6 on the grid for today's Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc managed to pass Liam Lawson to go fifth at the start, but once again the SF-24’s pace on Intermediates meant he was unable to attack as hard as he would have liked. He was stuck behind Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon, so he made his stop first, on lap 24 to try to be able to run in clean air.
Unfortunately, he rejoined in traffic and thus dropped to seventh just as the Safety Car was deployed because of the intensity of the rain, before it was red flagged following Franco Colapinto’s crash.
Leclerc excelled at the restart, attacking both Lando Norris and George Russell at Turn 1, going up to fourth behind the leading trio of Max Verstappen and the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. However, after that, Leclerc again lacked pace and Russell in the Mercedes claimed back fourth place.
Towards the end, Leclerc felt more comfortable with the car and fended off Norris in the McLaren, fighting tooth and nail, and as the track condition improved, pulled away to bring home the ten points for fifth place.
Reflecting on his race day at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc has acknowledged that he was left with mixed feelings.
"It was a very long and tricky race and the drivers on the podium today are those who did not put a foot wrong, so they really deserve it.I have mixed feelings about our race.
"On the one hand, it was a bit disappointing because we struggled to keep the car on track in these conditions, especially towards the end of the race, due to the way that we decided to set up our car for today.
"On the other hand, we finished ahead of both McLarens, which was a positive surprise and helps in our battle in the Constructors’ championship. We are heading home now to recharge for the final triple-header of this season where we will give it our all to try and secure the team championship title."
It was a day to forget for Carlos Sainz, who crashed into the barriers both in Q2 this morning and again on lap 39 of the race, when fighting for position outside the points.
Hot on the heels of his dominant victory at last Sunday's Mexico City Grand Prix, the Spaniard has revealed that he had been fighting with his SF-24 in wet conditions.
"Definitely a Sunday to forget for me. I’m sorry to have given the team extra work on a day that was already super long. I’ve struggled with this car in the wet this year, and today I just didn’t have the right feeling either.
"I tried to push and take some risks to gain positions and it obviously didn’t pay off.It’s a hard Sunday to digest but we will turn the page and reset everything ahead of Las Vegas.
