Leclerc baffled by Ferrari's "Strange" pace struggles on hard tyres in Chinese GP

Qualifying pace promises unfulfilled

After starting sixth on the grid, Leclerc aimed to challenge for a podium finish, capitalizing on Ferrari's anticipated race pace advantage over Red Bull.

However, his aspirations were swiftly dashed when the Scuderia's performance took an unexpected dip on the hard compound tyres.

Set up issues derail podium challenge

Leclerc, who pitted for the hard tyres on lap 21 of the 56-lap race, found himself unable to maintain the pace required to contest the podium positions.

Despite pre-race predictions suggesting Ferrari would be Red Bull's closest challenger, Leclerc finished a distant 4.5 seconds behind third-placed Sergio Perez and nearly 10 seconds adrift of second-place Lando Norris of McLaren.

Uncharacteristic pace deficit

"I don't think we found it [the pace] as a team, especially on the hard tyres, which is a bit strange because the strength of this car since the beginning of the year is it's very solid in all conditions with all tyres,"

Leclerc admitted, perplexed by Ferrari's sudden loss of performance.

Podium aspirations dashed

Leclerc acknowledged his initial optimism about battling Norris for the runner-up spot, stating,

"It's very strange, especially compared with the McLaren. With Lando at first, I really thought we were going to fight with him."

However, the introduction of the hard compound tyres seemingly derailed Ferrari's strategy, as Leclerc lamented,

"As soon as we put on the hards, we were half a second off. So that is very strange. We will look into it and try to understand what went wrong on that run."

Divergence from expected performance

Leclerc's bewilderment stemmed from Ferrari's divergence from their expected performance level throughout the 2023 season.

"We were expecting this weekend to be very similar or in line with whatever we've seen since the beginning of the season, but we were struggling quite a bit more,"

he admitted.

Upcoming analysis

With the Chinese Grand Prix in the rearview mirror, Ferrari faces the daunting task of dissecting their unexpected tyre struggles, particularly on the hard compound.

Leclerc's comments suggest the team will conduct a thorough analysis to unravel the reasons behind their uncharacteristic lack of pace, aiming to address the issue before the next race.