Leclerc puzzled by Ferrari drop in performance after poor Austrian GP P8 result

Photo: Race Pictures

17:56, 28 Jun

Henry Eccles is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs, and features across the F1 calendar. Since joining in 2026, he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.

Charles Leclerc was lacking in answers over Ferrari's poor performance at the Austrian GP, having started on the front row next to pole-sitter George Russell, the Monegasque dropped to P8 by chequered flag, with teammate Lewis Hamilton finishing P5.

Speaking to Sky F1 after his P8 finish, it was put to Leclerc that Qualifying was a step forward for the Scuderia, but that the race represented a step back for the Italian team. "Yeah, it's fair to say that," Leclerc replied.

"It was pretty bad today. I went into a set-up direction yesterday that I felt was pretty similar to what felt good last year but this year it was never working. The rear was never there, I was sliding around, overheating the rear tyres. It was very tricky."

When asked where Ferrari stand as we approach the halfway point of the season, Leclerc cut a confused figure - especially considering a stronger Barcelona GP last time out for the team, which saw his teammate Hamilton secure his first win in red.

Leclerc said: "Nobody is really understanding the difference of performance from one weekend to another. In Barcelona, we were probably one of the strongest cars - we brought some upgrades that worked.

"I don't think it was down to the upgrades this weekend. It's just these cars are very sensitive. If you are not in the right place with set-up, you pay the price a lot."

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Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur echoed Leclerc's thoughts post-race, telling Sky F1 that the "everything went in the wrong direction" in Spielberg.

"We didn't have the pace to fight with Mercedes and Max Verstappen and over-pushed the first couple of laps and had to change strategy. Everything went in the wrong direction. It's a good lesson," Vasseur commented.

Ferrari leave Austria with more questions than answers

Photo: Race Pictures

It was a familiar story of failing to convert potential into results for Ferrari, with all three of the drivers who finished on the podium, winner George Russell, Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli all agreeing they were surprised the Scuderia did not have the speed in a straight line in Austria.

Just two weeks after standing on the top step of the podium in Barcelona, expectations had understandably risen. Ferrari had openly spoken about closing the gap to Mercedes, while Hamilton himself had begun to cautiously discuss building momentum rather than simply collecting solid points.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	171
2	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	131
3	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	125
4	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	80
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	79
6	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	79
7	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	73
8	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	42
9	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	41
10	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	30
11	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
12	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	16
13	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	14
14	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
15	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	5
16	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	3
17	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
18	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	1
19	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
20	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
21	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
22	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0

Leclerc puzzled by Ferrari drop in performance after poor Austrian GP P8 result

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Ferrari leave Austria with more questions than answers

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