Charles Leclerc explains how Ferrari F1 has tackled its tire degradation issue experienced at the start of the season

Ferrari might have tackled its extensive tire degradation issue after its last upgrade.

At the post-race press conference after the 2023 Belgian GP, Charles Leclerc felt that Ferrari's pace was good enough to beat Mercedes but not enough to catch the Red Bulls.

Asked by Sportskeeda if Ferrari's tire degradation issue had been fixed in the recent races, Leclerc replied:

“I think it's a bit too early to say but it's been two or three races where we are managing our tires better. I think today, this was definitely not the reason why we finished so far behind the Red Bulls, I think they were just quicker. But in terms of tire management, we didn't have a huge degradation.

"And also looking at Mercedes behind, I was in control of the pace of my tires. So on that, it looked good, we still need to keep an eye on that because sometimes, especially in very specific conditions, we sometimes get off the window of the tires, the right window, and then we struggle quite a lot.”

Answering Sportskeeda’s question, Charles Leclerc felt that Ferrari's tire degradation issues might have been fixed but they still need to be monitored in specific conditions.

He stated that sometimes in specific conditions it is very easy for the tires to get out of the optimum temperature window. He was quick enough to outpace the Mercedes but not quick enough to beat the Red Bull Racing drivers. The Monegasque driver claimed Ferrari has been managing its tires better in the last few races.

The Ferrari car has suffered from severe degradation issues from the beginning of the 2023 season, one of the issues that both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have complained about.

The duo had complained about their car suffering from severe tire degradation both in clean air and dirty air. While there were multiple issues to fix, Leclerc has managed two podiums lately one in Austria and the other in Belgium. He also managed a podium in the sprint race of the Belgium GP weekend.

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Charles Leclerc claims Ferrari fuel saving cost them performance during the 2023 Belgium GP

Charles Leclerc claimed Ferrari was in fuel saving during the Belgium GP cost him significant loss of performance. Unable to match Sergio Perez in the Red Bull in terms of lap time, the Monegasque driver finished 9.954 seconds behind him and 32.259 seconds behind Max Verstappen.

While Verstappen was in a league of his own, beating Perez and claiming second place was a realistic target for Leclerc. However, the Ferrari driver felt that third place is the best he could get with their current car package.

Asked about the impact of fuel saving on lap times during the race, Charles Leclerc responded:

“A bit too much. But on the other hand, when Checo started to push again for a few laps at the end, I could not match that, so I think they also had a bit of margin. But yeah, at one point I was seeing that I was doing the same lap times as Checo, I didn’t know how much he was saving but I knew how much I was saving, so I thought, ‘OK, maybe we can get second place – but then very quickly I understood that he was just saving.”

When asked if this was the best result that could be achieved, Leclerc replied:

“This was the best we could achieve today, no doubt. So yeah, you always hope to try to win the race, but on the other hand, realistically, we knew that both of the Red Bulls would be much quicker, and… yeah… but our target was to maximise the points with the package we had and honestly, I don’t think we could have done anything better today.”

Claiming three podiums in the 12 races so far, Charles Leclerc believes that’s the best result they could have achieved with their current car. Unlike the 2022 season where the Ferrari drivers were targeting the championship, the 2023 season had a glitchy start for the scarlet squad.

With a new team principal Frederic Vasseur and several changes made within the team, the Maranello team has been trying its best to surge to the top. Ferrari is currently fourth in the championship, with Leclerc having secured 99 points and his Spanish teammate securing 92 points.