F1: Leclerc opens up on SF-24's performance in Bahrain GP, says "it was impossible to drive properly"
Mar 03, 2024
Sakhir [Bahrain], March 3 : After the end of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc expressed that it was "impossible" to drive properly at the Sakhir circuit on Saturday.
While speaking to the media after the end of the Bahrain GP, Leclerc revealed that he faced major problems with the car's brakes. He added that the team engineers will "investigate" the car's problems in the upcoming days.
"It was impossible to drive properly. We had big problems with the brakes, which we will investigate what happened in order for it to not happen again. This obviously was a big issue. In the first 10 laps, it was impossible," Leclerc was quoted by Formula 1's official website as saying.
Leclerc explained that he was braking "three or four metres" before a turn but still, it wasn't effective.
"Every lap I was doing I would brake three or four metres earlier, but the issue was getting much, much worse every lap, so every time I was basing my feeling on the previous lap, but in the meantime the issue was a lot more so I would get there and I would lock up like crazy again, so it felt really bad and then it stabilised but in a place that was completely out of the proper window," the Monacan F1 driver added.
Leclerc further claimed that he failed to see any "positives" after the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
"We have made a step forward but.. I don't know, I struggle to see the positives at the end of the weekend when it's time to put everything together then we have an issue, so I'm very disappointed..," he added.
Leclerc started the Bahrain GP in second place on the grid alongside pole-sitter Max Verstappen. But soon after the race started the Ferrari driver dropped backwards after the Scuderia Ferrari's SF-24 started facing problems with the brakes. However, he finished the race at P4 following a late overtake on Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team's George Russell.
