Ferrari simply lacks outright pace, claim Leclerc and Hamilton after the Suzuka round
Having secured a fourth and seventh spot at the Japanese Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton reckon that Ferrari will need to find improvement if they are to close the deficit to the field-leading McLaren and Red Bull.
Charles Leclerc endured a tough start to the Suzuka weekend, but he managed to improve his car balance for Saturday's qualifying to at least qualify fourth on the grid for the 53-lap Japanese Grand Prix.
The Monegasque had an ordinary start to maintain his starting position, and although he needed to fend off a feisty George Russell in the opening laps, he managed to stay ahead after the only round of pit stops thanks to a perfect timing from Ferrari. The eight-time grand prix winner then held on to P4, but he was constantly three tenth per lap slower than the Red Bull of Max Verstappen and the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Reflecting on his race day at Suzuka, the Monegasque insisted that although he is disappointed by the gap to the field-leading rivals, he is pinning hopes on the learnings Ferrari gained on Friday.
"It was a bit of a lonely race for me today. P4 is not a result we are ever satisfied with, but looking at the positives of this weekend, the work we did on Friday in terms of set-up adjustment and the learnings we take into the next races have paid off. We made good progress, but we have to keep our heads down and keep working before we come to any conclusions.
"The front runners still have quite an advantage in terms of pace. For now, we have to focus on maximizing the points we bring home, which we did today, and hopefully later in the season we can fight for the top positions."
Leclerc's team-mate Lewis Hamilton had to work a little more after starting on the hard compound tyre. He looked very comfortable in the dying stages of his first stint, constantly posting personal best lap times despite his ageing tyres.
However, he encountered unexpected difficulties on the medium tyres. While his initial laps were very encouraging, he was then unable to find the pace to chase down Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and lost connection to his Mercedes replacement as the second stint progressed.
"That was a tough race for us today. We didn’t have the pace to challenge the top three, and that’s something we’ll be working hard to address ahead of the next rounds.
"I went with a setup that felt good overall, but it just didn’t give me everything I needed out there. The team’s been doing an incredible job, and we’ll keep pushing together to find those gains. The fans have been amazing all weekend – their energy and support means a lot," concluded Hamilton.
