Leclerc Convinced He Achieved 'Best Result' Considering 'Bad Surprise' Ferrari Encountered
F1Sunday, 21 April 2024 at 17:00
Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc reacted to his P4 result during the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix.
The team from Maranello came to the Shanghai International Circuit with higher expectations than they had in Japan (where they score P3 and P4) because the circuit was supposed to be more similar to the one in Australia (where they scored a one-two).
However, Ferrari couldn't match McLaren's speed this weekend. The Italian team maximized their opportunity every weekend before the Chinese Grand Prix, and Leclerc is convinced there wasn't much more he could do this time, either.
"Honestly, the best result we could’ve got is this one. Because, unfortunately, McLaren was ahead in terms of race pace today."
The two Ferrari drivers avoided all the trouble in general; both had great strategies and pit stops, but their cars just lacked pace.
After starting from P6 and P7, the 26-year-old and his teammate Carlos Sainz made their way to P4 and P5, but couldn't go much further.
"With the mediums, we weren't bad. With the hards… this was the pace. It's incredible – we were half a second slower."
In his interview right after the race, Lando Norris said the biggest surprise for him was the lack of pace from the Italian F1 team.
The 24-year-old confessed he even made a bet to finish around 30 seconds behind Ferrari, which obviously proved to be wrong in the end as he finished 10 seconds ahead of the red cars.
Similarly, Leclerc didn't expect to be behind the 24-year-old driver. He and Sainz managed to finish ahead of the other McLaren driver- Oscar Piastri, but it might have been only because he suffered a floor damage. The 26-year-old added:
"The surprise was Lando, the McLarens. I believe Oscar had floor damage, otherwise it would’ve been difficult to finish P4. it’s a bad surprise."
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