It was not even four weeks ago that the Ferrari world was still in order. The Scuderia had celebrated its second Formula 1 GP victory of 2024 thanks to Charles Leclerc in Monaco and Leclerc had broken the curse that had been hanging over him at his home race. Even in the World Championship, Max Verstappen and Red Bull seemed within reach after the success – but just one more race weekend was enough for the euphoria to quickly evaporate.
In qualifying for the Canadian GP, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were in eleventh and twelveth positions, but did not make it to Q3. After an engine problem for Leclerc and a self-inflicted spin, including a collision, by Sainz, Ferrari had to leave a Formula 1 race weekend without scoring any points for the first time in 2024. Will they be able to step back to the top of the field when they return to the European season in Barcelona?
Leclerc optimistic in Barcelona: Should be back at our level
But the defect in the Ferrari engine was by no means the only problem the Italian racing team had in Canada. The qualifying performance in particular puzzled Ferrari. “Here too, we didn’t manage things as we should have. There was probably more to the car. That’s why I’m confident that we’ll be back at our level here in Barcelona,” said Leclerc optimistically on this point.
Ferrari drivers disagree: How representative is Barcelona?
An upgrade package on the SF-24 is also intended to help Ferrari get back to normal form. According to Leclerc, a good performance in Barcelona is also urgently needed because: “Normally Barcelona is pretty representative of the rest of the season. So if we are in the fight here, that is a good sign for the rest of the year.”
However, it is precisely when Leclerc is asked about the representativeness of Barcelona that he is contradicted – by his own teammate Carlos Sainz, of all people. “There are so many tracks that are no longer like Barcelona. Before, there were many tracks in Europe that were very similar to Barcelona. So it is no longer the case that Barcelona dictates the rest of the year,” says Sainz, who justifies this with the increasing number of street circuits.
Ferrari has no chance against Red Bull despite updates?
Representativeness or not: Are the Ferrari updates and the insights from the Canada failure enough to catapult Ferrari back into the fight for victory in Barcelona? “My personal opinion is that we will see a much stronger Red Bull,” said Leclerc, dampening hopes of a return to the winning track. “Simply because I would see the Red Bull very quickly on this track. The last four races from Miami to Canada have revolved a lot around riding over the kerbs and that is probably not one of the Red Bull’s strengths.”
Meanwhile, Leclerc doesn’t want to hear about understatement: “I won’t say that we are downplaying ourselves. I really believe that they will have the upper hand, especially during the race on Sunday.”
Given the potential strength of the RB20 in Spain, both Leclerc and Sainz believe that a dominant Red Bull performance on the level of the season opener in Bahrain is possible. Verstappen finished the race more than 25 seconds ahead of Sainz, the best-placed non-Red Bull driver.
Sainz on F1 update races: There is no panacea
“I always have the feeling that the Red Bull performs well on the medium-high speed tracks, as well as on tracks with rougher asphalt. They will be the team to beat,” said Sainz. But the increased competition from Sainz has McLaren and Mercedes on his list. “McLaren is also very strong in high-speed corners like here. We have to see how Mercedes’ upgrade performs here in Barcelona, because they were the fastest in Canada.”
Leclerc is expecting a close duel, especially in the duel with the former. However, additional uncertainty about the ranking of the Formula 1 field in Barcelona is caused by the fact that other teams in addition to Ferrari have brought updates with them to Spain. Given the currently extremely close balance of power, even small gains can make the difference. “There is no panacea in Formula 1 and all of these upgrades that we are bringing are small,” said Sainz with regard to the Ferrari innovations. “But hopefully it will make a difference, especially considering how close the field is.”
Leclerc continues to believe in his chance of winning the World Championship
However, it is also clear that this relatively small upgrade by Ferrari in Barcelona will not correct one of the main weaknesses of the SF-24 – the pace in long, slow corners, which caused Ferrari problems in China in particular. The Spain package was simply put together at too short notice, said Leclerc. “What we are trying to do with this package is to simply improve a little bit everywhere,” explains the World Championship driver instead.
Leclerc hopes that these small steps will have a big impact: “I hope that it is enough to close the gap and to be able to challenge Red Bull more consistently from now on.” Because the goal at the end of the year is clear: the world championship title. “Do I still believe in the title? Yes! Otherwise that would not be a good sign,” says Leclerc, fighting spirit despite the disastrous weekend in Canada. He is 56 points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ championship.
World champion Max Verstappen is expecting a completely different balance of power at the Spanish GP than the two Ferrari drivers. The Dutchman is also expecting a difficult weekend for his bulls in Barcelona. You can read all the details in this article: