Leclerc able to play with snappy Ferrari a lot more than me

The Spaniard will start the Spanish GP in third place after qualifying 0.416s adrift of polesitter Leclerc, with defending champion Max Verstappen splitting the pair.

That result was determined by Leclerc recovering from an early Q3 spin to post the fastest time of the weekend while Verstappen abandoned his final lap owing to a DRS problem aboard his Red Bull RB18.

Leclerc’s scare was the result of him having clipped the Turn 14 kerb at Barcelona, much like his spin to lose third place in Imola after he made a mistake while chasing Sergio Perez.

Asked by Motorsport.com if the F1-75 was therefore unforgiving, Leclerc took responsibility for the error saying he “tried to do too much” and the spin was “nothing to do with the car”.

But stablemate Sainz, who pipped Leclerc to fifth in the 2021 drivers’ championship, reckoned he did find the new ground-effect racer to be more of a knife-edge racer.

With the rear particularly difficult to handle, Sainz believes Leclerc’s greater ability to play with the car was a large factor in the early gap between the Ferrari pair.

Sainz said: “I do find it a bit tricky, snappier and a bit more pointy than last year’s car.

“Obviously, that’s one of the reasons why probably I’m still not quite there. I can see Charles is obviously happier with it and playing with it a lot more than I am.

“[That is] giving him that lap time edge over me recently. But it’s a fast car, which is the important thing.

“I just need to get used to it, used to this feeling of playing with the rear a lot more. I’m doing my homework in the simulator and at the track every time I go out.

“I try to push myself to get used to this balance, but I will get there.”

Sainz did warn the hot temperatures in Spain were hurting his progress with the rear as the tyres were degrading quicker.

But both he and Leclerc reckoned Ferrari had “found something” after its underwhelming race…