Leclerc expects another “difficult” weekend for Ferrari

Except in Bahrain where Charles Leclerc was imperial all weekend and should have won without an engine problem, the Scuderia shows a performance deficit compared to Mercedes. The House of Maranello is still without a victory and is almost 100 points behind its German rival, author of five doubles in a row.

The gap was obvious on the Barcelona side two weeks ago where the SF90 struggled particularly in the third and final winding sector, whose characteristics are strongly reminiscent of the urban layout of the Monaco Grand Prix. 

« I think it won't be an easy weekend for us because we struggled a little bit in the slow corners in Barcelona and in general since the start of the season, confided Leclerc. And Monaco is especially famous for this type of turns. 

Afterwards, it's an atypical route, in town and in Baku, we weren't too bad, including in this kind of sector. On paper, it's going to be difficult but we're going to give it our all ». 

Mattia Binotto, team principal and technical director of the Scuderia, revealed that Ferrari “ was working on new concepts », in particular to unravel the mystery of the optimal functioning of the 2019 Pirelli tires, which leaves more than one team without an answer. 

« We understood a couple of things during the post-Spanish Grand Prix tests, said Leclerc. Not enough to close the gap with Mercedes in Barcelona. We have gained a little in performance but we must continue to work to try to eliminate our weaknesses. ». 

While waiting to take the track on Thursday for the first free practice sessions, Leclerc will already have the pleasure of returning home this evening.