Leclerc Admits To Struggles, But Asserts He Is 'Not Worried' Going Into This Weekend
F1Thursday, 18 April 2024 at 09:16
Updated at Thursday, 18 April 2024 at 09:17
Charles Leclerc discussed head-to-head battle with Carlos Sainz again during the press conference ahead of the fifth round of the season.
Coming to the Sprint weekend at Shanghai International Circuit, Charles Leclerc stands third in the Constructors' Championship, 18 points behind the leading Max Verstappen.
He is four points ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz, but only because the Spaniard didn't attend the second race in Saudi Arabia due to surgery for appendicitis.
The Monegasque is currently losing a head-to-head battle with Sainz 1-2 in qualifying and 0-3 in terms of race results. Asked about what was going on, the 26-year-old told the media at Shanghai International Circuit.
"I think it's as simple as he's doing a better job. In Bahrain, it's difficult to compare because I was facing issues on my side, and it was a very strong weekend apart from that on my side."
"However, in the last two races, he has just been stronger, so it's up to me now to work, especially in the qualifying pace, which is normally a strength."
During the season's fourth round in Japan, Leclerc had a very good race and was one of only two drivers who managed to finish with only one pit stop.
Consequently, he was able to finish four positions higher than he originally started (went from P8 to P4), but it still wasn't enough to beat his teammate, who started from P4 and finished on the podium.
The 26-year-old Ferrari driver suggested after the race that there wasn't much he could have done better with his starting position and identified the problem as qualifying.
"I've been struggling to get it together, it's a very fine line to get it right or completely wrong on the out lap and putting the tires into the right window."
The Ferrari driver openly admitted that he has been struggling more than his teammate and acknowledged the level of performance that Sainz has been delivering ever since the start of the season as he added:
"For now, I have been struggling more than Carlos, and I think he's driving at a very high level, which I think is great for the team and for me as well."
"I have been working a lot on that, and normally, when I work on something, I'm quite confident in improving pretty quickly, so I'm not worried. But now I need to show that on track starting from tomorrow in the qualifying."
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