We have to admit we have a problem, Leclerc said of qualifying. What does Sainz think is affecting Ferrari’s cars?

Scuderia Ferrari had its worst qualifying session of the season, with the Italian team’s drivers finishing fifth and seventh. Charles Leclerc then revealed the problems that plagued his stable in qualifying in an interview with F1.

Fifth Carlos Sainz, seventh Leclerc – that’s the position Ferrari drivers will have on the grid for the Mexican Grand Prix today, and therefore on Sunday 30 October.

Neither of them really did well in qualifying on Saturday. The former set a time of 1:18.351 in the final segment of qualifying, losing over half a second to the winner Verstappen!

Leclerc then set an even worse time, namely 1:18.555. Yes, both drivers managed to advance to Q3, but they were not competitive enough to fight for pole position.

For the first time this season, neither Ferrari driver managed to finish in the top three. After qualifying, Leclerc wondered what it was about the Italian team, especially in the final part of Saturday’s action, that made it so difficult.

Leclerc’s and Sainz’s comments

“It was a difficult qualifying, but we have to admit that we have a problem. Our problems were mainly engine problems, we lost too much time on the straight and I also had problems with the handling of the car,” Leclerc explained in his post-qualifying interview.

Furthermore, the Monegasque racer also admitted the engine did not react correctly to the accelerator pedal. It should be added, Ferrari had a problem with this already during this season.

“Especially at high speed it was extremely difficult. I really hope we can fix it tomorrow. If we do, I’m sure we can get a good result, if we don’t, I’m not sure how it will turn out,” added the current second man in the drivers’ championship.

Even Sainz couldn’t cope with the car, which again suffered from low downforce and problems in the corners. Although he was in the top four in Q2, separated by just 14 thousandths of a second, he had some problems in Q3, just like Leclerc.

“I don’t know if we didn’t manage the set-up, or if we just got it wrong with the tyres, or if the altitude is just affecting us a bit too much, but it’s clear that the car is not as competitive in terms of lap times as in other Grands Prix,” Sainz admitted.

In the attached twitter post below you can see the starting grid for Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix.

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