The Ferrari driver will start the race in P8, two places behind team-mate Carlos Sainz.

READ: Alonso Warns Hamilton Will Crack Under Pressure Against Verstappen

Leclerc struggled to match Sainz’s pace throughout the weekend, and he was unhappy with the balance of his car.

Speaking after qualifying, he blamed himself for the poor qualifying and admitted he made a number of mistakes in Q3.

“For sure in the last sector having a car ahead didn’t help me, but I have to say it’s just my fault, I can only get mad at myself, I was not good enough,” Leclerc said.

“In the first sector I was doing the lap I wanted, everything was going well, I was one-tenth and a half faster than the lap I did before, so we were there. Then I made some mistakes that I should not have done in Q3.

“I’m sorry for the team because we did a great job from FP1. I was not at ease with the car at all, I made many mistakes in FP1, FP2 and FP3. In qualifying, I finally found the feeling, I was very competitive until this mistake.

“So I’m sorry. I’ll try to learn from this,” he added.

With just five races of the 2021 season remaining, Ferrari will need to maximise their points haul in today’s Mexican GP if they are to beat McLaren in their season-long battle for third in the Constructors’ Standings.

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The Scuderia are fighting with McLaren for P3 in the Constructors’ Standings this campaign, off the back of a miserable 2020 season which saw them languishing in the midfield and scoring only three podiums.

READ: Spa-Francorchamps CEO Found Dead With 2 Other Bodies

Speaking this week, Leclerc said their on-track gains clearly show that Ferrari have been doing something right.

“[This year has gone] better than expected,” Leclerc said, as quoted by RacingNews365.

“I think there’s a lot of work behind [it] and obviously I can see it, whenever I go to Maranello [and] here at the track.

“So it’s not a complete surprise. Obviously there is a big gain compared to last year, which is great to see and it shows that we are doing something right in the way we work.

“But it’s not the end of the road, and we have as a target to be back on top.

“We are just not really focusing on expectations, we are just focusing on the work to do, back in Maranello and at the track, and trying to maximise everything to be back to where we want to be as soon as possible.”

READ: De Vries Being Linked To Williams Not On Bottas’ Mind

Ferrari are currently third in the Constructors’ Standings, level with McLaren on 163 points.

As for how things are shaping up for the Scuderia in the Drivers’ Championship, Leclerc is seventh on 80 points, while his new team-mate, Carlos Sainz, is sixth on 83 points. 

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Sainz joined Ferrari from McLaren following their decision to axe Sebastian Vettel, with the German ultimately joining Aston Martin.

READ: Bottas Suggests Mercedes Could Have Saved Him ‘A Lot Of Unnecessary Pressure’

The 26-year-old got off to a fast start at Ferrari, and he is currently ahead of his team-mate, Charles Leclerc, in the Drivers’ Standings.

In a recent interview, Binotto said he believes Ferrari currently have the strongest driver line-up in Formula 1:

“I am convinced that with Leclerc and Sainz we have the best duo in F1.

“They are talented, fast and young, a guarantee for the future. We know Charles, he grew up in our academy, we have no doubts about his abilities.

“Without the accidents in qualifying in Monte Carlo and at the start of Hungary, in which he was also unlucky, he would have an extra victory and second place.

“He is growing in the vision of racing and in tyre management. He has great potential.

“Carlos didn’t surprise me. Before taking him, we analysed his characteristics: he is concrete, he brings points to the team and he is clear in communicating with the engineers.

READ: Clarkson Says Hamilton ‘Needs A Smacked Bottom’ For Falsely Accusing Alonso Of ‘Cheating’

“He is integrating and understanding the machine better and better.

“In the second half of the season I expect him to put together a perfect weekend, without errors in qualifying, at the start or in the race,” Binotto added.

The Ferrari team principal also said that he believes Antonio Giovinazzi, the Scuderia’s reserve driver, deserves a contract extension from Alfa Romeo.

“Giovinazzi remains our reserve driver, the first alternative to the regular drivers,” he noted.

“He is showing growth every year and I hope he can stay at Alfa, he deserves it.”

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Speaking this week, Binotto revealed that Ferrari have made “very little changes” to make the SF21 more competitive, as they have been focusing their research and development resources on their 2022 car.

READ: ‘Clearly There’s Something Missing’: Ricciardo Opens Up On Being Outperformed By Norris

“The car itself is exactly the same as we had in Bahrain. Very little changes,” Binotto said.

“The focus has been more on trying to exploit the maximum potential of the cars through the weekends.

“To somehow really make sure that in terms of race engineering and drivers through the weekend we are doing the right and proper job.

“That’s set-up, the way we approach the weekend, tyre management and strategy as well.”

Continuing, Binotto explained why he thinks Ferrari had better race pace than outright qualifying performance at Austria, whereas the opposite was true at most of the other grand prix contested so far this year.

READ: Vettel Defends Green Stance After Drawing Criticism For ‘Hypocrisy’

“I think it’s more down to the track layout than a different approach,” he said.

“I think that our good grip-limited performance has somehow made the fact that we have a good race pace this weekend, but I don’t think it is down to a different approach.

“I think that since the very start of the year we have made progress. I think the team is more together, not only in terms of spirit but the way we are acting.” 

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Prior to the race being red-flagged due to Valtteri Bottas and George Russell having a high-speed shunt at Tamburello, Leclerc was in a great position to finish in P3 and score Ferrari’s first podium since the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix.

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However, the red flag bunched the field up and saw Leclerc fall down to P4 as the track dried and all cars had switched to dry-weather tyres.

Speaking after the race, Leclerc said he was a “little bit frustrated” to miss out on a podium and explained that Ferrari were very competitive early in the race as they had decided to run more downforce in anticipation of it raining on Sunday.

“I’m happy with the race, but at the same time a little bit frustrated,” Leclerc said.

“The first part of the race, we were very competitive and everything looked good. We took a bit of a gamble yesterday with the downforce to be a bit better if it was raining and it was the case.

“Unfortunately then with the red flag, all the cars were reshuffled and it repacked everyone, and then we started to be a bit vulnerable on the straights and we struggled to defend from the cars,” he added.

Leclerc also commented on his decision not to overtake race leader Max Verstappen when he made a mistake just before the grand prix was restarted.

“I considered it at one point but at the same time I backed off,” Leclerc said when asked why he didn’t overtake Verstappen.

READ: Ricciardo: I’m ‘Certainly Not Defeated’ By Norris’ Imola Podium

“I think, looking back at it, it was the right choice because I think he always had one wheel on the track so I backed off because he didn’t completely spin.

“I thought about it but it was too late and he was already back in front,” he added.

McLaren driver Lando Norris, who was just behind Leclerc, said he believes Leclerc should have overtaken Verstappen.

“I had a great view of it,” Norris said following the race, which he finished in P3 to score his second-ever F1 podium.

“Quite funny actually. I think Charles could have gone past him in my opinion. At that stage Max was out of control and going left and Charles kind-of just hit the brakes and slowed down and stopped.

“At some point he has to go past Max because he was facing the barrier for a lot of the corner. I don’t know.

“We have to maybe ask the guys in charge what the exact ruling is for going off, as off-track, all four wheels off the track and example of yesterday – but at the same time Max was going very slow, so it was like Leclerc… Charles could have driven past him at the point. I’m not sure.

“I think if I was in P2, I would have gone for it, because you have a chance at winning then. It’s a risk worth it,” he added.

READ: Just How Bad Is Nikita Mazepin & Does He Deserve To Be In F1?

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Ricciardo was ahead of Norris towards the start of the race, but the team ordered him to let the young Brit through so they could see his pace in clean air.

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The Aussie followed the team orders and Norris quickly pulled away from him and went on to finish the race in P3 to score his second-ever podium in Formula 1.

Reflecting on his performance at Imola, Ricciardo said he needs a few more races to get settled at his new team.

“In the end, sixth from a points point of view is alright – but certainly my race pace wasn’t anything to do cartwheels over,” Ricciardo said.

“[My race pace] was certainly not particularly fast. I’ve just got to keep working on it. It’s one of those ones where obviously I’m hard on myself and obviously I’m not skipping around… But I think by race six or race seven, I’ll look back at race two and think, ‘What was I worried about?’” he added.

READ: Russell Suggests A Footballer Would’ve Reacted Differently To Bottas ‘Slap’

Continuing, he said he took encouragement from Norris’ podium at Imola as it demonstrated the underlying pace of McLaren’s 2021 car.

“I think it’s just up to me to… it sounds kind of simple, but just to keep turning laps, and obviously the pace is there,” Ricciardo said.

“Lando had really strong pace all weekend and obviously put it on the podium today, so I take encouragement from that. I’m certainly not defeated by that, and I’m certainly going to accept where I’m at at the moment and just work on it.

“I’m not going to let pride or ego get in the way. It is race two of 23, the road is long and I’ll just keep my chin up and work on it.

“Hopefully I’ll be more competitive in races to come. It’s race two so I don’t want to be like, ‘I was expecting to be on the podium already.’ Maybe by the next race I’m on it.

“But let’s say at least today my pace wasn’t that spectacular, so I’ll just look at it, work on it. Obviously the reference to Lando is a strong one so I’ll just chip away and do better,” he added.

Ricciardo currently sits seventh in the 2021 Drivers’ Standings, level on 14 points with Carlos Sainz, who he replaced at McLaren following the Spaniard’s move to Ferrari. 

READ: Carlos Sainz Praises Lando Norris’ Strong Weekend At Imola

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READ: Sebastian Vettel Needs To Have ‘Evil Spirit Removed From Him’

Tsunoda looked strong in qualifying but ended up getting knocked out of Q2 and started the Bahrain GP in P13, while team-mate Pierre Gasly managed to qualify on the third row of the grid in P5.

However, the Frenchman wrecked his race after he hit the back of a McLaren and lost his car’s front-wing.

In contrast, Tsunoda had a strong debut race and pulled off several fantastic overtakes, including a number of great moves on former F1 World Champions Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, as he worked his way up to ninth.

However, speaking after the race, Tsunoda said he was only 50 percent happy with his performance despite him scoring points in his debut F1 grand prix.

READ: Nico Rosberg Was Worse Than ‘Inferior Driver’ Valtteri Bottas, Ex-F1 Racer Claims

“I was glad to get points but I lost quite a few positions on the first lap,” Tsunoda said.

“That was my big mistake. I had to recover from there. I’m happy 50 percent. It was possible to go more forward for the positions.

“My first points feel okay but I think there is a lot of space to improve for the next race at Imola,” he added.

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READ: Nico Rosberg Was Worse Than ‘Inferior Driver’ Valtteri Bottas, Ex-F1 Racer Claims

Vettel was expected to struggle in the season-opener, as he completed the fewest number of laps of anyone at pre-season testing due to a series of mechanical problems on his AMR21.

But still, few were expecting him to have such a miserable debut with a team that has always punched above its weight.

After qualifying in P18 due to him getting caught out by yellow flags on his final Q1 run, Vettel was demoted to the back of the grid for a yellow flag infringement.

He finished the Bahrain GP in P15 after making some progress in the early stages of the race, but it was clear to see that Aston Martin’s 2021 car is nowhere near as competitive as its predecessor (according to team principal Otmar Szafnauer, cars with a low-rake aero design philosophy like theirs have been hit hard by the regulation changes.)

READ: Ferrari Team Boss Fires Thinly Veiled Jibe At Vettel After Bahrain GP

The low point of Vettel’s race was his collision with the Alpine of Esteban Ocon, which was entirely the four-time World Champion’s fault.

Speaking a day after the race, 1996 F1 World Champion Damon Hill said it is “awful to watch” Vettel endure such a difficult period in his career.

“It’s like watching that Mexican game at the party, the pinata. He is getting beaten to a pulp,” Hill said this week.

“What’s happening to him is awful to watch. I do feel something has got to shift in his psychological constellation.

“He needs to see a mystic and go and have some sort of evil spirit removed from him. He’s done something wrong to deserve this.

“I think there is some sort of psychological balance tipping point thing. And I think that if you feel on your heels, if you feel a little bit tentative about anything, it’s like a rugby tackle, you cannot go in half-baked.

“And he’s feeling like that the punishment he’s been getting. And the bruising he’s been getting has been worrying him. I’m afraid it just gets worse, it has to be a kinda jettisoning of all those bad, negative feelings.

“Once he’s done that, he’s got all the ability in the world. He could race at the front with Lewis and with Max.”  

Commenting on Lance Stroll’s performance at Bahrain, Hill said he had a “stellar weekend” despite the team’s 2021 car being weaker than its predecessor.

“He has put Sebastian Vettel in his box comprehensively,” Hill added.

Earlier, ex-F1 racer David Coulthard said he believes Vettel could be sacked by Aston Martin mid-season if he is comprehensively outperformed by Stroll.

“I just don’t see how he’s going to rediscover that mojo,” Coulthard said.

READ: 86% Of F1 Fans Believe FIA Changed Regs To Hurt Hamilton & Mercedes

“I think he’s an asset for the team in terms of experience, a safe pair of hands in terms of bringing the car home, but I think once you lose that little bit of speed.

“I do wonder if it’s a part of brand building, not only for Aston Martin but also for Lance Stroll, because if he can beat a four-time World Champion that will become a justification for why he’s a Champion in waiting.

“If he does to Seb what Charles [Leclerc] did to Seb, then I just don’t see how he [Vettel] can finish the season,” he concluded.

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READ: ‘I’m Gonna Have You Off’: Pundits React To Raikkonen & Sainz’s Bizarre Crash

Red Bull and Max Verstappen in particular looked strong during pre-season testing in Bahrain, while Mercedes were hampered by reliability issues and Hamilton struggled to get to grips with the W12.

Bottas has admitted that the car isn’t “yet there as a package”, but he is hopeful that Mercedes can get it dialed in before the season-opener later this month at the same track.

“I absolutely believe the car and the team, it has the potential [to win the 2021 Champoionship],” Bottas said.

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“I don’t think it’s yet there as a package in terms of performance, but I’ve no doubt that we will work hard to find it somehow.

“I’m still not fully comfortable. We’ve been going forwards, I think, with the set-up of the car and understanding of the car, and getting it to behave better, but still there is more work to do, and from these busy few days, there’s lots of data that hopefully can help us to make the car faster when we race here,” he added.

Continuing, the Finn admitted that this has “definitely been the most challenging start to the season in terms of testing, and now time is even more limited nowadays.”

“So definitely not ideal. But, at least I feel that the recovery has been pretty good in the last couple of days, he added.

“I feel ready. I felt like I had enough time in the car. I feel with the short runs, the long runs, really comfortable with everything and confident, so from my side, I’m ready, and as a team, we will be ready, no doubt. As ready as anyone else and hopefully even better,” Bottas concluded.

READ: Ferrari’s 2021 Power Unit Could Rival Mercedes – Gene

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READ: Verstappen Reveals He Received COVID-19 Vaccine – But Not In Bahrain

The Maranello-based team had the most powerful engine in 2019, but a couple of technical directives were introduced by the FIA to tighten up a few loopholes in the regulations that Ferrari were believed to be exploiting.

As a result, Ferrari had the weakest power unit in 2020 and all three teams which used its engines struggled with straight-line speed throughout the season.

Ferrari will be running a new power unit this upcoming campaign, and test driver Marc Gene believes it will be much better than its predecessor.

READ: ‘I’m Gonna Have You Off’: Pundits React To Raikkonen & Sainz’s Bizarre Crash

“We don’t know exactly how much horsepower we have gained, but I have a rough idea,” Gene said.

“I don’t think we have recovered everything we lost compared to 2019, but much of it has been.

“The car is an evolution, but the engine is new.

“Last year Ferrari had the worst engine on the grid, but in 2021 we will have one of the best. I don’t know if it will be as good as Mercedes, but it will be very good,” he added.

Continuing, Gene said that he doesn’t believe Ferrari will be competitive enough to fight for the Championship in 2021, but he hopes they can at least score podiums and perhaps a few victories.

“We are not going to win this year, but hopefully we can take victories in some races.

“Right now our goal is to be on the podiums and to show that last year was an exception in the history of Ferrari.”

Ferrari finished sixth in the 2020 Constructors’ Championship – their worst finishing position since 1980.

The team seems confident that the SF21 will be more competitive than the woeful SF1000, and the new power unit should also help Ferrari have a stronger season, though all three other F1 engine manufacturers have also upgraded their power units this year.

READ: Ferrari & Mercedes Take Up Bahrain’s COVID-19 Vaccine Offer

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