Charles Leclerc started the Belgian Grand Prix on pole and finished on the podium, but he wasn’t entirely satisfied with Ferrari’s performance this weekend.
Leclerc surprised everyone by finishing second in Saturday’s qualifying, meaning Max Verstappen will be promoted to top pole on Sunday after being handed a ten-place grid penalty for using a new engine this weekend.
But he was realistic about his prospects for the race, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez leading the line, with Lewis Hamilton starting third, and McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri right behind.
Leclerc maintained the lead until La Source, but Hamilton was too quick and the Mercedes overtook him on the Kemmel Straight just as DRS became available.
He briefly regained the lead during the first round of pitstops, but did not lead again after lap 12. When Oscar Piastri passed him for third on lap 36, it looked as though he would never make it to the podium.
Race winner George Russell returned to the podium after being disqualified following the race, but Leclerc could take little solace in seeing Ferrari get pushed by their rivals at Spa.
“What happened is very simple. We were not fast enough,” he said, assessing the situation bluntly when speaking to the media in the paddock after the finish. “We felt we were the fourth fastest car today.
“McLaren and Red Bull were expected, but Mercedes were quicker than expected,” he continued. “On a dry track like today, it’s very difficult to leave them behind on a track like this.”
Leclerc thwarted the efforts of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris to overtake him in the final stages of the race, which gave him a lucky podium spot a few hours later.
“We were good at keeping up with Max and Landau all the way through, but fourth place today was the best we could have hoped for,” he said before news of Russell’s disqualification broke.
But realising that Ferrari were now chasing Mercedes was not the feeling Leclerc wanted to have as he headed into his summer break.
“I thought fourth was the best possible result today because there were two McLarens ahead and one Red Bull ahead,” he said. “I think if Red Bull had been ahead it would have been a positive weekend.
“But it was Mercedes. We thought we were equal to them, but they got the upper hand,” he lamented. “We thought we were equal to them, so it’s worse than expected. I don’t think this result is very positive.
“In terms of tyres and strategy, we expected to see a lot more grain on the hard tyres, but the tyres worked well and we struggled more on the medium tyres. I thought we stopped too early on the first stop, but looking back, the hard tyres were a really good tyre.
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“It was definitely more difficult at the end of the race because there was more bouncing and more high-speed pushing,” he added. “The last stunt was a little bit more, but it wasn’t that crazy.
“I was hoping for better results during the holiday season, but that’s the reality,” he said with a sigh. “And at least I know I did everything I could in the car.”
Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz was similarly disheartened. He started seventh and tried an alternative tyre strategy, starting on hard tyres and making his first pit stop after 22 laps into the race.
“We decided to start with a different strategy than everyone else around us. The start and the first stunts were very good, but unfortunately we didn’t have enough speed to work in our favor.”
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This strategy allowed him to lead for a while, but his second stop in the intermediate car lasted only seven laps and he dropped to eighth behind Perez. However, he overtook the Red Bull on lap 39.
“It felt like we were on the podium and everyone was working hard and you could tell their pace,” he said.
“The last time I did it, I felt like I was a very competitive, fast-moving person, but other people told me over and over that I wasn’t as fast as I wanted to be.”
Asked how much of a time gap he thought there was between Ferrari and the other frontrunners, he said: “I think it’s still about two or three minutes.”
Asked if he thought Ferrari had done anything to close the gap this weekend, Sainz was candid: “When you look at the pace of Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren in the race, I don’t think so.
“The first half of the season has been challenging for a number of reasons,” he admitted. “But I’m sure we’ll come back stronger after the summer break.”
