Leclerc reveals Ferrari’s challenges after Chinese GP disqualification

Charles Leclerc acknowledges Ferrari must learn from the bitter experience of having both cars disqualified at the Chinese GP.

The Monegasque driver highlights the importance of performance improvements heading into the Japanese GP.

While his teammate managed to win the sprint race in Shanghai, Ferrari views that result as an anomaly. The team expects their performance at Suzuka to more closely reflect their true form as seen in the main race in China.

“Whenever you make mistakes, you need to learn from them, especially when they cost this much,” stated Leclerc during the press conference at Suzuka.

The technical issues leading to disqualification — underweight car and illegal skid plank wear — are consequences of pushing close to permitted tolerance limits. Ferrari now focuses on improving procedures to avoid similar incidents.

Leclerc emphasizes that Ferrari’s main challenge isn’t extracting maximum performance, but rather the car’s capability gap compared to McLaren. The team hopes to begin closing this gap starting this weekend at Suzuka.