Leclerc headed the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez race weekend optimistic given Ferrari’s strength on high downforce tracks this year and the track’s setup requirements.
While Ferrari ended up as the leading midfield team in Mexico on Friday, it finished more than a second behind Max Verstappen’s P1 time for Red Bull, led by Carlos Sainz Jr.
Towards the end of the second practice session, Leclerc told Ferrari on team radio that he was “struggling so much with engine problems”.
Leclerc stated after training that the issues were nothing to worry about and that the team understood what was going on.
“We had some things in the background that weren’t pleasant to drive, but nothing too big,” said Leclerc.
“Everything we can control, so no big problems, it’s just a little more difficult to drive in these conditions.”
Leclerc added that the problem was “just a bit of a lack of torque sometimes out of corners” and a “lack of acceleration but nothing too big”.
Due to the high altitude and the lower air density in Mexico City, the gensets are sometimes more heavily loaded, which often levels out differences in performance between different engine suppliers.
Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari SF21
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Sainz said that the teams “all suffered a bit from the temperatures here and there because of the thin air here and everything”, which was “a pretty challenging day” for him.
Ferrari are looking to overtake McLaren in the battle for third place in the constructors’ championship this weekend, having come close to the British team by 3.5 points last time in Austin.
Sainz and Leclerc both noticed the impressive Friday performance of AlphaTauri, who finished sixth with Pierre Gasly and made Yuki Tsunoda finish in the top 10 in FP2 as well.
“It’s weird because we came here thinking we’d be pretty competitive, but actually AlphaTauri looks very competitive,” said Leclerc.
“The Honda guys look very competitive in general. And McLaren will be there too. So it’s going to be very, very tight [in qualifying]. “
Sainz added: “We have looked good in the last few races. But here I have the feeling that we haven’t nailed the car balance yet.
“We’re still a little way from the ideal vehicle balance and driving experience, and what we’re trying to do now for tomorrow is to make sure we put it in the right window and win the extra tenths that it can bring us in front of the AlphaTauri.
“At the moment they look a little faster.”
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