Ferrari on the right path after hitting ‘rock bottom’

12:21 – Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies says Charles Leclerc’s performance in qualifying at the Nürburgring shows that the Maranello team is on the mend after hitting ‘rock bottom’ earlier this season.

Qualifying for the Eifel Grand Prix yielded mixed results for Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel again failed to reach Q3 and he will start from P11 on Sunday, but Leclerc made a strong impression by fighting for the fourth starting position. In the third free practice, the Ferrari men were already in good shape with a third place for Leclerc and fifth for Vettel. The contrast with the races at Spa and Monza is great: the Scuderia did not get off the feet there and Leclerc was the team’s best man in qualifying both times with position thirteen.

Charles Leclerc’s strong performance at the Nürburgring is important, according to Mekies, as it indicates that the team has taken the right path in development. “Charles did very well, but overall I think it was a good day for the team,” said the Frenchman. “We have had some difficult weeks and months. That is why it is encouraging for our efforts that we have a good development direction. It does not matter much for today, but it does for the future and next year. That is a good sign.”

Ferrari introduced the first part of a package of upgrades in Russia and part two followed in the Eifel. Mekies indicates that these recent upgrades have played a role in the progression. “Hopefully we hit rock bottom a few weeks ago and we’re trying to shape the solution to our problems. It’s a long way, which I’m sure will go up and down. But I think today after Sochi the first step. in that direction and hopefully the car will have a little more speed. Charles did of course have a very strong qualifying, he was sharp right away and really made the most of it. Finally, we should not forget that it is a special weekend without training on Friday. This also slightly changes the pecking order. “

It will be cold at the Nürburgring this weekend, which makes it difficult to warm up the tires. Ferrari manages to do that reasonably well and according to Mekies that is also a factor that the team seems to be doing reasonably well in the Eifel. “Before the weekend, we were concerned about the tires working in these temperatures,” said Mekies. “If I don’t look at the competition, the tires worked pretty well with us. I don’t know how much trouble our opponents had. So I like to think that it was a sharp Saturday, and that the upgrades gave us the extra tenths it made. make a difference in this field. With two tenths ahead you are on P4, but you are out of Q3 if you are three tenths slower. So we have to be realistic about that. “

In collaboration with Adam Cooper

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