Charles Leclerc finished sixth in the Belgian GP as Max Verstappen extended his world championship lead by winning at Spa; Leclerc lost a place at the end of the race after deciding to pit to go for the fastest lap
Monday 29 August 2022 06:15, UK
Charles Leclerc admits it will be "very difficult" to stay in the championship fight after Max Verstappen extended his lead with a dominant Belgian GP victory.
After starting the race in 14th, a place behind Verstappen who had also taken a grid penalty for taking new engine parts, Leclerc was only able to finish sixth at Spa as his rival surged to victory.
While he never had the pace to challenge Verstappen, Leclerc was hampered by an enforced first-lap pit stop caused by a visor tear-off becoming stuck in his helmet, before a late Ferrari strategy call cost him more points.
Having battled up to fifth, Leclerc came in for a late pit stop as Ferrari sought to steal the point for the fastest lap of the race from Verstappen, but he initially lost his position to Fernando Alonso, and had to pass the Alpine on the final lap to retake it.
However, it was all in vain as he was handed a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane and consequently moved back below Alonso to sixth, leaving him 98 points adrift of Verstappen, and now also behind the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez.
"After the start I was quite hopeful, then we had the tear-off in the brake so we had to stop and start everything again," said Leclerc.
"Then I knew it was going to be a difficult race from that moment onward.
"The pitlane is not bad luck, it's just my fault - it's a mistake and that's it. on the other hand, we were just not quick enough which is the problem more than anything. We need to work on that."
While it looked like a Leclerc vs Verstappen battle was to ensue for the world championship this season, strategy mistakes together with driver errors have made it look increasingly improbable Ferrari can make any dent in Red Bull's advantage.
"It starts to look very difficult, especially with the pace [Red Bull] have shown this weekend. But I will get my head down, try to focus race by race and give it my best," Leclerc added.
"Again, it starts to look very difficult [in terms of still being in the championship fight], but I will try my best."
Although Ferrari's strategy calls have once again been called into question, team principal Mattia Binotto defended the risky decision to bring in Leclerc for a fastest lap attempt.
"Some are unhappy because we were coming here hoping for a better result but we have as well today to accept that Red Bull are faster than us and have been slightly faster in Hungary so now it is a couple of races where they are faster," said Binotto.
"We have to focus on ourselves, try and look for our weaknesses and push for developments. Not just for this season but for the next one as well.
"I think we made the right decision because you need to be brave enough to try and go for the maximum and there was the gap on Fernando.
"We knew it was very tight but we knew we could overtake him on the new tyres by taking the DRS and getting the extra speed on the straight.
"In the end it was the right choice but we didn't have the fastest lap and maybe that is another one to look at why. But the choice was the right one and the over speeding we will look at the data, it was really, really borderline.
"I don't think just because there are risks in the operation you should not stop for the best lap still."
Despite defending his team's decision-making, Binotto admitted the drivers' championship is now out of Ferrari's hands and firmly in the grasp of Red Bull.
"If you look at the driver's championship, the gap to Max is now very high and it will not be sufficient for Max to win all the races simply to finish ahead of him and we need to start counting on Max to not finish races.
"And when you are counting on others it becomes more difficult."
It is not just Leclerc who leaves the Belgian Grand Prix with questions for Ferrari after Carlos Sainz admitted his car was not as competitive as he expected.
Sainz started on pole but tyre degradation coupled with a lack of speed meant he ended the race in third, with the Mercedes of George Russell chasing him down right until the final moments.
"Unfortunately, it was harder than expected," Sainz said. "We got a good start and a good restart after the safety car, but the pace was not there.
"We had a lot of overheating on the tyres, we were sliding around a lot and for some reason our package wasn't quite there this weekend.
"But, in the end, we finished on the podium and we will take it."
Ferrari could in fact find themselves looking over their shoulders in the closing eight races of the season, with Mercedes only 41 points back in the constructors' championship and having been able to match or better the Italian outfit's pace in recent races.
"Definitely today our race pace was probably better than the Ferraris," Russell said. "Carlos obviously started on pole and he was leading the first stint and we closed in on him both times.
"At worst, I think we were equal with Ferrari today but as we know, it is swings and roundabouts.
"I think our pace was slightly better than Ferrari today but Red Bull are just in a league of their own at the moment."
