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Scuderia Ferrari has reported a loss of 0.6 seconds for Charles Leclerc due to unfavorable brake temperatures at the Bahrain GP.
On March 2, reigning world champion Max Verstappen eased to victory at the Bahrain International Circuit for a challenge-less P1 finish. From the start of the race and after a careful maneuver at turn 1, Verstappen's RB20 was out of the plain sight.
Leclerc secured the P2 spot during Friday's qualifying round. After clocking the best Q2 time at 1:29.165 seconds, the Ferrari driver locked his place next to the Dutchman. However, from the moment the lights went off and after a close battle for the lead at turn 1, Leclerc's SF-24 couldn't keep up with the RB20.
According to the car data, the vehicle inappropriate brake temperatures, which hampered the Monegasque's run. It was calculated that he supposedly suffered a deficit of 0.6 seconds during the initial 15-20 laps (via Formu1a.uno).
Charles Leclerc spoke about his dissatisfactory outing after the race, saying (via F1 official press release):
"It was impossible to drive properly. We had big problems with the brakes, which we will investigate what happened in order for it to not happen again. This obviously was a big issue. In the first 10 laps it was impossible."
He added:
"Every lap I was doing I would brake three or four metres earlier, but the issue was getting much, much worse every lap, so every time I was basing my feeling on the previous lap, but in the meantime the issue was a lot more so I would get there and I would lock up like crazy again."
Charles Leclerc's odds of being the closest challenger of a Red Bull thrashed by "more than 100 degrees split"
After a promising run on Friday at the 5.412 km circuit, Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were confident of giving Red Bull a challenge in the main race. However, persistent brake issues prevented them from doing so.
Even though Sainz reported similar issues after his first pitstop, the latter's problem was resolved after he preserved his brakes for a later stage in the 57-lap dash. However, Leclerc's sole focus was shifted to just crossing the checkered flag and bringing the car into the garage.
After the race, he outlined the moment when he understood that his prospects of a podium finish, let alone chasing the six-time Formula 1 constructors champion, were over. Charles Leclerc said (via motorsport.com):
"Every time I would brake three meters earlier, but I would still look up, then at lap 15 or 20, the issue stabilised. The team told me on the radio that it was more than 100 degrees split between from front right and front left, which is huge."
The five-time race winner added:
"At that moment, I understood that the best thing I could do was just to bring the car home to the checkered flag."
