Charles Leclerc has admitted that Ferrari made an error in engine strategy during qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. The Monegasque could only manage sixth place, four tenths behind pole-sitter Lando Norris, after a strong Sprint performance where he finished second.
Leclerc downplayed the impact of light rain in the final part of qualifying, instead pointing to the team's decision to alter engine settings during the session, which caused the power unit to behave erratically in Q3.
“Today we got the engine strategy a bit wrong. We changed things during qualifying, and that's never ideal. When we got to Q3, the power unit did some strange things,” Leclerc told Sky Sport F1.
Ferrari had to settle for third row lockout, with Lewis Hamilton in fifth. This marks a significant step back compared to Leclerc's Sprint pace, where he was just milliseconds off pole.
Leclerc insisted that the main issue was pure lack of pace, not track conditions. “No, I think the pace wasn't there. Yesterday everything was perfect, but talking to George and Lando, they didn't seem to have done everything perfectly. We knew they had more margin,” he explained.
Despite the setback, Leclerc remains optimistic for the 72-lap race. He believes Ferrari's race pace offers a chance to recover. “Of course this qualifying makes our life harder, but it's a long race. With the race pace we've shown, everything is possible, but it will be more difficult,” he concluded.
This failure adds pressure on Ferrari as they fight tightly in the constructors' championship. The disappointing qualifying result at Zandvoort serves as a key note for the Italian squad to improve consistency across race weekends.
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