Ferrari had expected to “suffer” at the Belgian Grand Prix from the ongoing straight-line speed battles that made the 2020 season off to a difficult start.
However, during Friday’s training session in Spa, the team struggled with the runners in the lower midfield when Leclerc and Vettel finished the day in 15th and 17th place.
Leclerc finished the second training session 1.6 seconds behind the pacemaker Max Verstappen and was more than eight tenths of a second in the top 10.
His lap of 1: 45.440 minutes was also 1.3 seconds slower than his best lap in second practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix last year.
“It’s probably a surprise to be so far behind, especially in FP2,” admitted Leclerc. “We tried a lot of things. At the beginning I tried something pretty aggressive on the downforce, but it didn’t really work. We came back to that.
“We have little pace right now. We have to work hard to get back, but I don’t expect miracles this weekend. It doesn’t feel good and it’s sad to see Ferrari so far down. As always, our work as a driver, it’s about doing our best, and that’s what I’m trying to do and what Seb is trying to do in the car. “
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Leclerc believed the possibility of rain on Saturday would only worsen Ferrari’s trouble at Spa.
“We have a lot to do with balance this weekend,” said Leclerc. “Usually the rain just gets your balance worse, and the problems you have in the dry are worse in the rain.
“I think it will be difficult if we don’t find a solution to fix the balance problems we have today.”
Vettel finished two tenths behind Leclerc in the second training session and landed behind George Russell’s Williams.
The four-time world champion said after training that his Ferrari SF1000 was “difficult and difficult to drive”.
“I think that means we’re not exactly where we should be,” said Vettel. “We’re currently looking for options to set up. We tried a lot this afternoon. Reset and try again and try something different.
“I’m sure tomorrow will be a little better. I’m not sure what the weather will be like, but yes, we will tackle it tomorrow.”
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