The Italian team knows its current weakness with Red Bull lies in managing the tires during races, with little difference between the two teams in single-lap qualifying.

Despite a breakthrough race in Australia and pole positions in the Baku sprint and grand prix, the team was no match for Red Bull in last weekend’s long-distance race.

However, it was Leclerc’s late GP surge, his ability to defend Fernando Alonso at the same pace as a runaway Red Bull in the closing stages, that raised some eyebrows.

This was also discovered by Max Verstappen after the race when he questioned Leclerc in the driver’s room in front of the podium.

A few laps away from home, Leclerc even set the fastest lap of the race, showing that his tires still have a lot of potential.

Team boss Fred Wasser believes the situation in Baku has been clouded by tire management tactics, although the pace of the late arrival has led to speculation that Ferrari may be doing better on the rubber than feared.

He believes they had more late in the game because of Leclerc’s careful tire management early on after the safety car stop, with Red Bull duo Sergio Perez and Verstappen surpassing their best by running at full speed. good condition.

“If you look at the last leg of the race, I’m not sure if Red Bull wasn’t going to do two (stops) because they were pushing like hell from start to finish,” Vasseur said.

“But when we’re sure at the start that we’re going to do it once, and we’re going to do it a lot at the beginning, it means we do end up with a tire advantage. Overall, they’re faster than us, and we don’t have to kid ourselves.”

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR23

Photography: Mark Sutton/ motorsport pictures

Leclerc said he deliberately took things easy after pitting during the safety car to take better care of the tyres, and he had already struggled with overexertion in the sprint as he tried to chase eventual champion Sergio Perez. Paid the price.

“We have to use our cars[to take care of the tires]otherwise we kill them and then we can’t get them back,” he explained. It has a big impact on our performance. I think we managed perfectly, but we weren’t quick enough.

“Whether we were lacking at the beginning of training or at the end of training, we can change, but what we are doing now is not enough.”

The fact that Ferrari was so quick on a lap but struggled to match the Red Bull in races suggests that the problem with the SF-23 was more aerodynamically set up.

Asked by Autosport whether the weekend confirmed that Ferrari’s biggest problem was mechanical, Vasseur said: “It’s another thing to understand whether it’s from a mechanical problem or an aerodynamic problem.

“I think it’s been obvious so far that we’re trying to be consistent and this weekend was a little bit more real. But the car was more consistent this weekend throughout the lap, all the corners and the race as a whole and we’re heading in the right direction. go ahead.”