Leclerc: 'Red Bull benefits less from new tyres than Ferrari'

Ferrari was often very fast during qualifying in the 2023 season, only to lose out to Max Verstappen's Red Bull Racing during the Grand Prix. A key difference between Ferrari and the Austrian team was being able to keep the tyres viable: the Italians managed that for a considerably shorter time than Red Bull.

So Ferrari had a shorter window in which to perform at their best. In that short window, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc managed to pole a total of seven times. The latter looks back on this in a conversation with Auto, Motor und Sport: "If we have new tyres in qualifying, the extra grip of the tyres compensates for the car's weaknesses. Then we will compete," Leclerc states.

'Weaknesses Ferrari come to light'

"As soon as the tyres age and lose grip, and on top of that we have a lot of fuel on board, the problems start. Then, when we drive in traffic, when there is wind or the temperature changes, the weaknesses become even more apparent. It then becomes very difficult to drive the car."

A new tyre set benefits every driver, including Red Bull Racing. But, says Leclerc: "Yes, but they don't benefit as much. For us, the new tyre removes the weaknesses that would otherwise slow us down. As I said, there is a very small margin on which the car works. Take the Mexican GP: we were very fast on medium tyres. As soon as we ran on hard tyres, nothing worked."