Charles Leclerc revealed that he struggled with tyre management in Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix, which forced him to pit earlier than Ferrari team mate Sebastian Vettel – who ultimately finished third.
Leclerc has had a tough end to the first half of the 2019 season, having spun off in Germany from P2, and then conceding P3 to his team mate in Hungary.
Both Ferrari drivers began on medium tyres, but Leclerc had to pit 12 laps before his team mate and end the race on the hard compound; Vettel took a set of softs and passed his team mate for third place with three laps left.
“We pitted quite early on the first stint mostly because I was struggling with tyres, and then on the second stint towards the end I was struggling with tyres again – the rears,” said Leclerc after his fourth place in Budapest.
“So there is definitely something that Seb is doing better than me in the long runs when there’s degradation, so I need to understand from where it’s coming from, and try to improve that.”
Vettel has rebounded from a 16th-place finish at the British Grand Prix to take second in his home race and another podium in Hungary. Leclerc conceded that he has “much to learn” after being beaten by his team mate again.