Charles Leclerc unsure of 'short-term' Ferrari fix as 'limitation' revealed

Charles Leclerc has admitted Ferrari may not have a "short-term" answer to the sensitivity that cost the team a potential front row in Austin, with the Monegasque identifying keeping the SF-26 in its "right window" as a current "limitation".

Leclerc qualified fourth at Circuit of the Americas despite having been a favourite for pole position, with Ferrari's strong pace across practice suddenly disappearing come the final part of qualifying/ 

Starting from fourth ended Leclerc's realistic hopes of victory in Austin, although a strong start allowed him to fight for a podium and finish second. 

Now, Leclerc enters the Mexico City Grand Prix where Ferrari are again tipped to perform strongly, to the extent that the Scuderia has been deemed by some as favourites.

Speaking to select media including RacingNews365 ahead of the weekend in Mexico, Leclerc was asked whether Ferrari arrive as the team to beat.

"I don't know," said Leclerc. "Honestly, I think it's getting very close, and we have good momentum. With Singapore and Austin as well, we've maximised our potential, and I was relatively happy with the pace we've shown. 

"Whether we are the favourites for this weekend, I don't fully agree. I think Mercedes remain the favourites wherever we go. Red Bull are very, very strong as well recently. But if we maximise everything we have, then I hope it can be a great weekend for us. 

"As we've seen, I think the optimisation of our package is what will eventually make the most difference. It's so difficult to put everything in the right window coming into qualifying that, if we manage to do so, I think we've got a chance here."

Leclerc then turned to why qualifying in Texas proved so difficult, pointing to a specific weakness that reared its head when track temperatures dropped late in the session.

As a result, he is unsure whether Ferrari's key area of struggle will reappear this weekend in Mexico City.

"I mean, we've got a strong car, but it's a car that is very sensitive whenever we get off the optimum window," Leclerc began explaining. 

"We've paid the price a little bit recently in Q3, particularly when the track temperatures are going down. Then we just struggle a bit more compared to the others to keep everything in the right window. 

"That's what happened in Austin, unfortunately, in the lap that counted the most out of Friday and Saturday. Eventually, we lost a front row because of that. It's a limitation we know about and that we're focused on. Whether we have the solution in the short term, I'm not sure. 

"But at least it's a point of focus and something we'll make sure to try to get as right as possible coming into Saturday here."