Charles Leclerc's been brutally honest about Ferrari's ongoing struggles, and it's not what Tifosi want to hear heading into Mexico City. The Monegasque driver has identified a critical limitation with how sensitive the SF-26 is when operating outside its optimal window, particularly during qualifying when track temperatures drop. This weakness cost him a front row spot at Austin despite Ferrari being strong throughout practice, and he's not confident the team's got a short-term solution to fix it.
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What happened in Texas perfectly illustrates the problem. Leclerc was tipped as a pole favourite but ended up qualifying fourth when temperatures cooled in Q3. He admitted that managing the car's setup becomes incredibly difficult when conditions change, and that's where Ferrari's losing time against their rivals. It's a frustrating reality for a team that's shown genuine pace across multiple sessions, only to see it vanish when it matters most on Saturday afternoon.
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Still, Leclerc's not throwing in the towel for Mexico. He reckons if Ferrari can nail the optimization of their entire package and keep everything in the sweet spot, they've genuinely got a chance this weekend. He's stopped short of calling the Scuderia outright favourites though, pointing out that Mercedes remains the benchmark and Red Bull's been incredibly strong recently. The key will be maximizing whatever they've got and hoping the qualifying demons don't strike again.
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The reality is that this sensitivity issue is a known problem the team's actively focused on, but there's no magic wand solution coming immediately. For a team chasing results in these crucial races, that's a tough pill to swallow. Mexico's traditionally been a track where Ferrari performs well, so there's still optimism, but only if they can dial out this qualifying vulnerability come Saturday. It's going to be a narrow tightrope to walk.
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