Ferrari's Qatar Woes: Leclerc and Hamilton Lament Lack of Pace

Ferrari faced a challenging start to the Qatar Grand Prix weekend, with Charles Leclerc openly admitting the team is struggling after only managing P9 in Sprint Qualifying. His teammate Lewis Hamilton, starting P18, was even more succinct in his disappointment, underscoring a tough outing for the Scuderia.

Why it matters:

Ferrari's struggles in Qatar highlight a persistent issue with finding consistent pace, especially after difficult weekends in São Paulo and Las Vegas. With both drivers expressing significant frustration, the team's ability to contend for championships is again under scrutiny. A strong performance is crucial for Ferrari to close the gap in the Constructors' standings, where they are currently 13 points behind Red Bull and 53 adrift of Mercedes.

The details:

• Leclerc's Frustration: Charles Leclerc reached SQ3 but felt his final lap was compromised by Carlos Sainz's Williams ahead, which created an overly large gap, stressing the cars behind. While acknowledging the right to do so, Leclerc called it "very annoying and a bit unnecessary sometimes."
• Deeper Issues: Despite the traffic issue, Leclerc was clear that the problem goes beyond a single incident. "We are very slow and we are struggling once again this weekend. It's a tough one again," he stated, indicating fundamental pace issues.
• Close Margins: The Monegasque driver noted the small margins in SQ3, suggesting he was only a few hundredths of a second off P5, but the overall lack of performance remained the main concern.
• Hamilton's Dejection: Lewis Hamilton had an even tougher time, exiting in SQ1. He gave curt responses to the media, stating his performance was "same as always" and that a high-downforce setup change offered "No, [not] good enough" optimism for Saturday. When asked if the Sprint would be a testing session, he simply replied, "The weather's nice," signaling his visible frustration and resignation.
• Chassis Instability: The Ferrari car appeared unsettled from the moment it hit the track in FP1, making it difficult for either driver to extract consistent performance.

What's next:

Ferrari's engineers face a long night ahead, needing to find solutions to improve the car's pace and stability for Saturday's Sprint race and Sunday's Grand Prix. The team entered Qatar hoping for a reset, but Friday's performance has only added more questions. The pressure will intensify to salvage meaningful points and regain some confidence as the season progresses.