Leclerc bemoans 'biggest problem' as Ferrari slump continues

Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari's "biggest problem" is that it does not have the ability to do "much better" than its recent results.

The upgrade brought to June's Spanish Grand Prix has proved to be a step backwards for the SF-24, with bouncing reintroduced as the Scuderia has also hit a sticky patch of form, with Leclerc not scoring points in Canada, Austria or Britain. 

Team-mate Carlos Sainz has fared a little better, including a podium in Austria, but although Ferrari is second in the Constructors', it is not currently the second-fastest car, with McLaren stepping up to challenge Red Bull.

At the Hungarian GP, a new floor update designed to counter-act the bouncing has been introduced, with Sainz topping free practice 1 on Friday, but both he and Leclerc struggled to match the pace in qualifying.

Sainz will start fourth ahead of Leclerc in sixth, with Lewis Hamilton the filling in the Ferrari sandwich in fifth as the Monegasque lamented the lack of performance.

"I think coming into the weekend, I knew that we know we need more to get back to the level of McLaren and Ferrari," Leclerc explained to media including RacingNews365. 

"The best thing we could do this weekend was instead of not maximising our weekend, maximising it, which I honestly think we did [in qualifying].

"The biggest problem now is that we don't have the performance to do much better, so that is where we'll focus the development for the future.

"Q1 was tricky, but I think it was tricky for everybody because of the conditions and then in Q2 and Q3, the confidence was there, it was just that the performance was not."

A minor mistake from Leclerc

As for his qualifying lap, Leclerc confessed to making a small mistake on the exit of the final corner which he felt cost him a chance at out-qualifying 2025 Ferrari team-mate Hamilton, who was about half-a-tenth ahead.

"The picture is very similar to what we expected [after Friday practice]," Leclerc added.

"We are just lacking some pace at the moment and I think for the team, the best result could have been P4 and P5. 

"I didn't do the lap of my life and in the last corner, I lost a few hundredths which cost me P5, but apart from that, there wasn't much on the table. 

"We've got to work because obviously it is clear that we are lacking some pace against McLaren and the Red Bull, and we are pretty similar with the Mercedes."