Leclerc bemoans "crazy" Ferrari issues

Charles Leclerc has bemoaned Ferrari's tyre degradation issues that left him with "crazy" understeer during the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Monégasque endured a nightmare weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, finishing 12th on the road in the race having started from the pit lane following extensive rear-end changes after qualifying only 19th.

Leclerc was promoted to 11th after a penalty for Yuki Tsunoda after the AlphaTauri driver forced Zhou Guanyu's Alfa Romeo off-track when battling late in the race, thought that was no consolation for the Ferrari driver.

The Scuderia has struggled for race pace throughout the opening seven races of the campaign and speaking to media, including RacingNews365.com, Leclerc explained: "We had the Hard, which we expected to be a good tyre, but for some reason it was so bad - no grip at all, especially from the front.

"The limitations were completely different to qualifying, so we were expecting this.

"But for some reason, we never seem to get into the right window of the tyre and when we do, it is a bit of a surprise to us. There is a lot of work we need to do.

"The temperature came but also the graining came more than the temperature, so it was just understeering like crazy."

Misery continues

Leclerc sits seventh in F1's Drivers' standings on 42 points, behind teammate Carlos Sainz and 128 points adrift of last year's title rival Max Verstappen.

The Ferrari has lost points through incident and strategic errors already and asked if this weekend was a low point for him, Leclerc conceded: "We have had quite a few disappointing days this year.

"Unfortunately, it is just in line with the rest of the year."