Charles Leclerc “felt” Ferrari upgrades but baffled by McLaren’s “huge” pace gap

Charles Leclerc says he felt the benefits of Ferrari’s latest F1 upgrade package at the Belgian Grand Prix, but was left baffled by McLaren’s dominant pace.

Leclerc is set to start Saturday’s sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps from fourth on the grid.

It was a strong session from Leclerc, particularly as Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton qualified down in 18th following a spin at the bus stop chicane.

However, Leclerc’s deficit to Oscar Piastri, who will start the sprint from pole position, was an eye-watering seven-tenths.

This weekend is important for Ferrari as they have introduced a new rear suspension on their car.

While Leclerc was encouraged by its initial feeling, he was disappointed by the gap to McLaren in qualifying.

“I felt the changes,” Leclerc said after sprint qualifying. “But today the gap is huge.

“I am sure we did a step forward but, for some reason, the McLarens are even faster than usual around this track. So it’s disappointing.

“I think what we were searching for, with the upgrades, we found it. It’s just a shame to have such a difficult qualifying session with the gaps.”

Ferrari F1 car “feels better”

Ferrari are the only team inside the top four of the constructors’ championship without a victory this season.

They came closest at the Monaco Grand Prix as Leclerc finished second behind Lando Norris.

Ahead of the weekend, Hamilton admitted that Ferrari will take some time to fully optimise the new suspension package, which could potentially improve lap times at other circuits.

Leclerc conceded that he has mixed feelings as the feeling behind the wheel of the car was “pretty good”.

“The feeling was pretty good,” Leclerc added. “It’s a mixed feeling - I am happy that the car feels better, but even if it feels good we are still seven tenths off, which is huge. It is a big amount of time.

“There is a lot of work to be done, for sure. We just need to add grip to this car. I don’t think we are doing anything particularly wrong, we just need more grip.”