Ferrari unable to solve mystery surrounding Charles Leclerc’s ‘undrivable’ car

Ferrari have been unable to find the cause of the mystery problem that plagued Charles Leclerc during qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.

Having been knocked out in Q1 at the Barcelona circuit, the driver only 19th fastest, Leclerc and Ferrari were at a loss to explain why the 25-year-old had such an issue with his SF-23.

Speaking after the session, Leclerc describe the car as undriveable and said: “I don’t understand what we are doing wrong, but we are doing something wrong.”

It was not an issue that was easy to diagnose as well with Ferrari working on Saturday night only to decide to fit an entire new rear end, condemning Leclerc to a pit lane start.

His team boss Fred Vasseur suggested they would need to wait until the car got back to their Maranello factory but it seems they have still been unable to find the cause of the issue.

A report from Formu1a.uno said nothing had been changed with the car and that there was no “physical malfunctions”

The report read: “Charles Leclerc’s car was inspected in Maranello without finding any significant ‘physical’ breakdowns or malfunctions. It is likely that some setting betrayed the Monegasque in qualifying , then returned to place with the total reset of the set-up in parc fermé.”

Ferrari are on a dismal run of form, failing to win a race since the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix and having gained just 100 points this season, 187 fewer than leaders Red Bull.

It has been 16 years since Ferrari last won either of the world titles and questions were raised as to whether the team, who have been present since the first season, may move away from Formula 1. CEO Benedetto Vigna though has ensured the Tifosi that there is no plan to withdraw from the sport.

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“It once again demonstrates that Ferrari is unique and that we make unparalleled cars. It is a unique car,” Vigna told Eurosport after Ferrari’s first win at Le Mans since 1965.

“The next goal? To continue winning. Was the bad start of the season in Formula 1 stressful for me?

“You know, I have more significant reasons for stress. For the team, this is a chance to improve and learn a lot. We must build a machine that will be better than the previous one, but this rule is true for everything we do.

“Sport is very important for us, racing is in the DNA of our company. So Formula 1, World Endurance Championship, we will keep investing there because we see a lot of technologies that can go from the track to the road.”