F1 pundit casts doubt on Charles Leclerc's reasoning for his struggles in qualifying

F1 pundit Peter Windsor has claimed that Charles Leclerc's qualifying woes in the recent races might not be related to his 'out-lap' tire preparations.

The Ferrari driver has been unusually struggling in the past two qualifying sessions in Melbourne and Japan, given his ability to put in a timed lap. The woes have also mystified him and the team alike, as his teammate Carlos Sainz has been generally getting the better of him in the first four races.

While appearing on the Cameron F1's YouTube channel, Windsor pointed out that Charles Leclerc's explanation didn't convince him and said:

"He's saying it's because of 'Oh, how I do the out lap and temperatures'. I don't think it is. I don't think it is something as relatively simple as that because Ferrari would be pretty much on the ball there and they're getting it right with Carlos Sainz so why wouldn't they be getting it right with Charles Leclerc?"

"I think in Melbourne, it was overdriving in Sector Two, here I can't say it was overdriving but there is something I can't say for sure. There is something about the way he manages tires in the actual lap not the build-up lap," he added.

Charles Leclerc chimes in on his qualifying woes after a P4 finish in Suzuka

Charles Leclerc stated that the poor qualifying cost him in the race despite finishing the Japanese GP in P4 from P8.

The Ferrari driver told F1.com:

"I think we didn’t have a better result mostly because of the qualifying yesterday and this is where I want to focus, which is strange – in the past, I never had to really focus on qualifying because that was one of our strengths."

“But since [this past] two races, it’s not really the performance in itself, it’s just putting the tires in the right window and I’ve been struggling a bit more than normally, which is normally my strength, and I’m paying the price today in the race by starting further away," he added.

The Monagasque driver would hope to perform between in the Chinese GP next weekend given it is the first Sprint race of the season, a format he usually goes well in.

Leclerc would have two bites at the qualifying session, once for the sprint race and the other for the main race.

Despite his deficit to his teammate, Charles Leclerc is four points ahead of Carlos Sainz in the drivers' championship with 59 points to Sainz's 55 and occupies the P3 slot.