Charles Leclerc hails crucial Ferrari element after front row boost

Charles Leclerc has hailed the impact of the new floor introduced by Ferrari in Bahrain following his strong result in qualifying.

The Monegasque driver ended the session in third place, behind pole-sitter Oscar Piastri and Mercedes' George Russell.

However, following an investigation from the stewards, Russell was demoted back one position on the starting grid, bumping Leclerc up to the front row.

It marks the first front-row start in a grand prix for Ferrari this year who has largely struggled for performance across the opening rounds.

Leclerc commended Ferrari for how it has responded to its early season challenges.

“The team has done a really, really good job,” Leclerc told media including RacingNews365. 

“We've all pushed quite a lot in the last few weeks because we've been struggling with performance. 

“I know that at the factory they've been pushing like crazy to try and bring this floor a bit earlier on, and that definitely made the difference. 

“Because if I look at the gap with P4 [Leclerc's remark came prior to Russell's penalty], it's not that much and I'm pretty sure that without the floor I wouldn't be P3.

“So that's already one position won.”

Ferrari is chasing its first podium result of the season on Sunday, with Leclerc having a stronger opportunity to claim a strong result compared to team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who is set to start from ninth.

However, Leclerc is wary the Bahrain International Circuit does not offer the best opportunity to generate pace from the new upgrade compared to events coming up on the schedule.

“I'm curious to see what it will do [in the race],” Leclerc said.

“However, it's probably not the best track to extract the maximum out of this new upgrade, but in the next few weekends we shall see more of it.”