Ferrari is still on the podium, but still in third place. Charles Leclerc drove the SF-24 to achieve the second podium in 2 races after the one obtained by Sainz in Sakhir. Just like a week ago, the Red was beaten by both Red Bulls with Verstappen ahead of Perez.
Leclerc, at least during free practice, seemed to have a pace not so far from the RB20. today, however, the Monegasque finished the race just under 20 seconds behind Verstappen's Red Bull, confirming the gap seen in Sakhir.
The most positive aspect is seeing Ferrari firmly second force in the World Championship, but in Maranello they know well that it cannot be enough. We will need to close the gap soon to try not to repeat the 2023 season, with Red Bull dominating in all but one of the races.
“We had a great pace, we even did the fastest lap at the end of the race using the DRS, but overall the sensations were good. The race was a bit boring, because the Red Bulls were too fast for us, but we were too fast for the others. But today we achieved the best possible result”, declared Leclerc at the end of the race.
Jeddah confirmed itself as one of the toughest tracks in the World Championship. Leclerc reiterated what he had already said yesterday, underlining how the heat and average speeds in this type of track design make everything extremely complex.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
“Today I was often alone and the adrenaline wasn't at its maximum, but yes, this is one of the most difficult tracks of the entire World Championship on a physical level. It's hot and the problem is in the neck. You go very fast and there are lots of curves, it creates neck problems. It's very hard and it's not even fun to drive.”
Leclerc didn't even want to shy away from commenting on Oliver Bearman's excellent debut. The 18-year-old Briton achieved a very impressive seventh place, keeping up with the comebacks of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton who followed him on new Soft compounds, while he was still on used Hards.
“Ollie did an incredible job. Already from Free Practice 3 he picked up the pace straight away, in qualifying he did a great job and didn't get into Q3 only because of a slipstream. In the race he even took seventh place, it was incredible “He did all this in a new car, it was really extraordinarily impressive. He must be very proud of what he did, but we know him well. It's only a matter of time before he arrives in Formula 1 on a permanent basis.”
#Leclerc #Bearman #extraordinary
