Why Charles Leclerc’s Belgian podium has raised more questions for Ferrari

Michelle Foster 07 Aug 2023 11:15 AM

Charles Leclerc smiling while speaking to the media. Azerbaijan April 2023.

Charles Leclerc secured a podium at the Belgian Grand Prix but along with the champagne celebrations came yet more confusion and questions about his SF-23.

Throughout the first half of this year’s championship, the Ferrari team-mates have been vocal in their complaints about the car’s lack of consistency that was making it “very difficult as a driver to gain confidence and to adapt”.

It’s a problem that has cost them dearly in the standings with Ferrari slumping to fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship, a whopping 312 points behind Red Bull.

Charles Leclerc perplexed by change in fortune from Budapest to Spa

It has meant that even though Leclerc secured a podium at the Belgian Grand Prix, the driver starting from pole position before crossing the line in third place behind the runaway Red Bulls, he still couldn’t be entirely happy with the result.

That’s because Spa is a circuit that shouldn’t have suited Ferrari’s SF-23 whereas a week prior in Budapest, the Hungaroring should have and yet he was a distant P7 in the race.

“I think something interesting we should look into is our competitiveness from Budapest to Belgium,” he said.

“Before these two races, I would have bet that Budapest would suit our car most. If you look at the two races, we were much stronger in Belgium than in Budapest.

“This is what we need to understand in order to maximise our package in every race for the second half of the season because maybe we didn’t understand that there.”

But while he says it is “not a concern” but rather something they need to understand, he added: “We knew immediately after the first practice session that we would be strong here [Spa], but that wasn’t expected before that. So we need to look into that.”

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With his podium at Spa, Leclerc equalled George Russell on 99 points but moved ahead of the Mercedes driver into fifth on theDrivers’ log由于他的讲台在法拉利没有统计w just five points behind Aston Martin in the race for third.

“这是非常重要的,”他告诉天空体育F1的his podium result. “It gives me, and the guys at the factory and track, a smile to go into the summer break with a race like this.

“It’s not a completely happy face because we are still very far from Red Bull and this is our target. On the other hand, after such a difficult first part of the season, it’s good to finish this half that way.”