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Charles Leclerc calls Ferrari Brazil Friday one of worst feelings of season

Charles Leclerc said Ferrari was slow on the straights and poor in the corners after Friday practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

By , Editor

· 2 min read

Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc (file photo) Photo: Eustace Bagge / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Charles Leclerc reported a difficult Friday for Ferrari at the Brazilian Grand Prix, with the SF-26 losing time on straights and feeling poor in corners. Motorsport.com reported Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc were sixth and seventh fastest in Free Practice 2.

Key takeaways

  • Charles Leclerc described the Ferrari SF-26 as slow on straights with a terrible feeling in corners
  • Leclerc was seventh fastest in Free Practice 2, 0.72 seconds behind pacesetter Kimi Antonelli
  • Lewis Hamilton was sixth fastest, 0.45 seconds behind Antonelli
  • Leclerc missed FP1 after ceding his car to Ferrari protege Dino Beganovic
  • Team principal Fred Vasseur admitted to a couple of issues and a lot of work ahead

Charles Leclerc said Ferrari struggled on Friday at the Brazilian Grand Prix, reporting that the SF-26 was slow on the straights and felt poor in the corners. 72 seconds slower than pacesetter Kimi Antonelli in his Silver Arrow.

Leclerc ceded his car to Ferrari protege Dino Beganovic in FP1 and was impeded by Ferrari academy graduate Rafael Camara in FP2.

Driver reaction

"It's been a very, very difficult Friday," Leclerc said. "The feeling was just very poor inside the car, so we've got a lot of work to do – and probably more than other weekends – to change quite a lot the car from today to tomorrow.

It just felt quite strange, in a way. " He said Ferrari was losing for sure in the straights, but the car in the corners felt probably one of the worst Friday feelings of the season.

Leclerc said there was a lot to be found in corners, more than in the straights, where Ferrari knows it has a deficit, though normally the team is very fast in corners.

Asked whether set-up tweaks could get the SF-26 back into the right window or if Ferrari was in for an unexpectedly difficult weekend, Leclerc said he did not have the answer yet, but had quite a lot of ideas on what to change and thought there would be significant changes going into tomorrow.

Team and background

Team principal Fred Vasseur admitted to "a couple of issues" and "a lot of work" ahead, but was more optimistic than Leclerc as to Ferrari’s chances in the remainder of the weekend.

Vasseur said there was a lot to do on the balance and that the drivers were not happy.

He noted Charles did not do FP1 that morning and that the weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday was so-so, meaning Ferrari had to be prepared for all conditions. Leclerc is a Monégasque racing driver who competes in Formula One for Ferrari.

He was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 2022 with Ferrari and has won nine Grands Prix across nine seasons.

What happens next

Leclerc said whether the changes would be enough remained uncertain, but the issues from Friday were quite big and there was no reason Ferrari should struggle so much more on a track like Interlagos.

Ferrari plans significant changes to the car before Saturday, with Leclerc saying he has quite a lot of ideas on what to change. The team must prepare for mixed weather conditions over the remainder of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend.

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