The Ferrari driver’s strong run of seven consecutive front row positions ended in Australia where he qualified fifth before a penalty for Sergio Perez gifted him a place.
He struggled again at Suzuka, where he was unable to do better than eighth after having to use a second set of tires to ensure a safe exit from Q1.
In both races he prevailed to take second and fourth place respectively, but he insists he must start higher up the grid.
“If I look today I’m very happy, I don’t think we could have done better,” he said when asked by Autosport about his race at Suzuka.
“The pace was really good, the tire management was really good, the communication was really good.
“However, as a driver you always have to look at the negative throughout the weekend.
“And whether it’s Australia or here, race pace hasn’t been an issue – it’s my qualifying pace, which is something I haven’t been very used to in my career, to work on my pace qualifying, because normally it’s quite fast.” well on Saturday.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“However, for two races in a row I have been struggling to put the tires in the right window.
“And that’s definitely my main goal now in Shanghai, to try to refine the right window, the tires, and that I place them more consistently inside that window. Then once I do this, I am sure that the rhythm I will return in quality.”
Leclerc insisted his current fight was all about tire preparation.
“One hundred percent,” he said. “Because, like I said, my laps weren’t that bad. The lap I did was actually very good. But the grip the tire offered just wasn’t there.
“And that’s because I did a bad job in the previous round, which is very frustrating because you finish a round and you’re happy. But in reality, you’re nowhere.”
“So I have to focus on that. It’s very good, as very little difference. However, I’m sure that by analyzing the data well – we have a week before Shanghai – and every time I focus on something, I’ve improved pretty quickly, so I’m not too worried.
“But I have to take this step forward for Shanghai now.”
Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur played down Leclerc’s concerns, pointing out that his session at Suzuka had been compromised by Q1.
“There is no need to draw a conclusion solely based on the ranking,” the Frenchman said. “I think where we missed the weekend a little bit with Charles yesterday was in the first lap of Q1. He didn’t do a mega lap, and we had to put the second set down because we were a bit at risk.
“And then you go to Q3, you only have one set. And you’re a little behind, because you say to yourself: ‘If I make a mistake, I’ll be 10th’. And we don’t have took the right approach in qualifying.
“But now I am convinced that Charles is a competitor, he is the right one in a qualifying round, and he will be back soon.
Pressed by Leclerc himself to admit he needs to improve, Vasseur added: “Yes, he is clear-headed about the fact that he didn’t have a good qualifying yesterday, and you can’t be happy when your teammate is P4, and you are P8.
“But overall we also have to take a deep look at the qualifying, the session. We missed Q1, then we landed at the end with only one set in Q3, and if you finish a tenth from the second row , it’s it’s not a disaster, like you’re six tenths away from that.
“And it will be next week again, we will have two qualifiers in China, two opportunities to get the job done.”
The Ferrari driver’s strong run of seven consecutive front row positions ended in Australia where he qualified fifth before a penalty for Sergio Perez gifted him a place.
He struggled again at Suzuka, where he was unable to do better than eighth after having to use a second set of tires to ensure a safe exit from Q1.
In both races he prevailed to take second and fourth place respectively, but he insists he must start higher up the grid.
“If I look today I’m very happy, I don’t think we could have done better,” he said when asked by Autosport about his race at Suzuka.
“The pace was really good, the tire management was really good, the communication was really good.
“However, as a driver you always have to look at the negative throughout the weekend.
“And whether it’s Australia or here, race pace hasn’t been an issue – it’s my qualifying pace, which is something I haven’t been very used to in my career, to work on my pace qualifying, because normally it’s quite fast.” well on Saturday.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“However, for two races in a row I have been struggling to put the tires in the right window.
“And that’s definitely my main goal now in Shanghai, to try to refine the right window, the tires, and that I place them more consistently inside that window. Then once I do this, I am sure that the rhythm I will return in quality.”
Leclerc insisted his current fight was all about tire preparation.
“One hundred percent,” he said. “Because, like I said, my laps weren’t that bad. The lap I did was actually very good. But the grip the tire offered just wasn’t there.
“And that’s because I did a bad job in the previous round, which is very frustrating because you finish a round and you’re happy. But in reality, you’re nowhere.”
“So I have to focus on that. It’s very good, as very little difference. However, I’m sure that by analyzing the data well – we have a week before Shanghai – and every time I focus on something, I’ve improved pretty quickly, so I’m not too worried.
“But I have to take this step forward for Shanghai now.”
Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur played down Leclerc’s concerns, pointing out that his session at Suzuka had been compromised by Q1.
“There is no need to draw a conclusion solely based on the ranking,” the Frenchman said. “I think where we missed the weekend a little bit with Charles yesterday was in the first lap of Q1. He didn’t do a mega lap, and we had to put the second set down because we were a bit at risk.
“And then you go to Q3, you only have one set. And you’re a little behind, because you say to yourself: ‘If I make a mistake, I’ll be 10th’. And we don’t have took the right approach in qualifying.
“But now I am convinced that Charles is a competitor, he is the right one in a qualifying round, and he will be back soon.
Pressed by Leclerc himself to admit he needs to improve, Vasseur added: “Yes, he is clear-headed about the fact that he didn’t have a good qualifying yesterday, and you can’t be happy when your teammate is P4, and you are P8.
“But overall we also have to take a deep look at the qualifying, the session. We missed Q1, then we landed at the end with only one set in Q3, and if you finish a tenth from the second row , it’s it’s not a disaster, like you’re six tenths away from that.
“And it will be next week again, we will have two qualifiers in China, two opportunities to get the job done.”