Leclerc commenced the race in Bahrain from the second position on the starting grid, but quickly began to drop down the rankings, visibly struggling with the brakes on his SF-24 and experiencing lock-ups throughout the course.
Later, Ferrari disclosed that the #16 SF-24 was plagued by a significant temperature difference of 100 degrees between the front left and right brakes.
Jock Clear, the performance engineer for the Italian Formula 1 team, faced inquiries from the media in Jeddah on Thursday regarding the brake issues, particularly in light of the revelation that Carlos Sainz, in addition to battling illness, was also contending with potential brake-related problems.
“We are currently conducting an investigation,” Clear responded when asked if Ferrari had found a solution to the problem. “Obviously, we have had limited time between now and last week, as the factory is quite far away.
“So we have conducted as thorough an investigation as possible and, with the assistance of Brembo, we have essentially resolved the issue. We have arrived here and do not anticipate any specific problems. Therefore, I believe we can put that matter to rest,” he asserted.
When questioned if Sainz’s issue was connected to what Leclerc experienced in Bahrain, Clear did not provide a direct answer.
“Well, not exactly related,” he stated. “And to be honest, we have not fully resolved the problem or completely identified it.
“However, we are confident that the changes we have made for this weekend will ensure that it will not be an issue,” concluded the Ferrari engineer.
Given the back-to-back race weekends in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, it is understandable that Ferrari could not thoroughly analyze the brake problem. However, their insistence that it will not occur at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, while acknowledging that they have not fully identified it, raises some questions.