Ferrari Worried About Straight-Line Speed After Baku. Sepang's Long Straights Won't Help.
Leclerc and Hamilton said Ferrari was "too slow on the straights" in Baku. That's a concern heading into Sepang, which has two long straights.
Ferrari are still second in the Constructors' Championship, but their drivers left Baku unhappy. Charles Leclerc finished fourth and Lewis Hamilton sixth at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday. Both named the same problem: a lack of speed on the straights. That's a worry this week, because Sepang International Circuit has two long straights on either side of its final hairpin.
What the drivers said
Leclerc started second but dropped behind both Red Bulls in the race. "It was very difficult to defend against the Red Bull Racing cars because we're too slow on the straights," he told SPEEDWEEK.com. He also said Ferrari's rivals are improving: "In my opinion, McLaren and Red Bull Racing have taken a step forward with their upgrades." He added: "We need to respond, because if we lose pace now, it'll be very difficult to make it up later."
Hamilton's problem was more about grip. "We need to understand why we were so slow today. We had no grip. We had no front-end," he said, according to F1 in Generale. In Ferrari's official race-day comments, he said the team "struggled to get the tyres consistently into the right operating window".
Talking to RacingNews365, Hamilton said there was "not very much I can do" about the straight-line deficit, and he didn't want to say where Ferrari now stands. "We're obviously not the second quickest at the moment, but we're ahead of McLaren today, so maybe we're third," he said.
F1 in Generale reported that Baku was Ferrari's fifth race in a row without a podium.
Why Sepang matters for Ferrari
Sepang has fast corners, but it also has two long straights on either side of the Turn 15 hairpin, so straight-line speed counts. A car that is slow on the straights can struggle to attack or defend in the DRS zones. Rain is also common in the Klang Valley in the afternoon, which can make the race harder to predict.
Ferrari has a strong record in Malaysia. According to RacingNews365's list of winners, the team has won at Sepang more than anyone else, including Sebastian Vettel's first win for Ferrari in 2015. Both current Ferrari drivers have history there too. Hamilton won the 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix for Mercedes, and in 2017 he started on pole and finished second. Leclerc has never raced an F1 car at Sepang because his debut came in 2018, the year after Malaysia left the calendar.
The standings picture
Hamilton is third in the Drivers' Championship with 199 points and Leclerc is fifth with 179, with McLaren's Lando Norris (186) between them. Ferrari have 378 points in the Constructors' Championship, 160 behind Mercedes and 72 ahead of McLaren. Second place is safe for now, but the gap to McLaren could shrink quickly if Baku's pace problems show up again at Sepang.
Key takeaways
- Leclerc (P4) said Ferrari was "too slow on the straights" and that rivals' upgrades had moved ahead.
- Hamilton (P6) said the car had "no grip" and "no front-end" in Baku.
- F1 in Generale says Ferrari has gone five races without a podium.
- Sepang's two long straights on either side of the final hairpin will test the SF-26's straight-line speed.
FAQ
Has Hamilton won at Sepang? Yes. He won the 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix for Mercedes. He also started on pole in 2017 and finished second.
Has Charles Leclerc raced F1 at Sepang? No. He made his F1 debut in 2018, after the last Malaysian GP in 2017.
Where are Ferrari in the championship? Second in the Constructors' Championship with 378 points after Baku.
Sources: SPEEDWEEK.com, F1 in Generale, RacingNews365, Formula1.com, Wikipedia (2017 Malaysian Grand Prix)