Ferrari: We are not completely on top of brake problem

Leclerc started the race in Bahrain from second on the grid, but soon started dropping down the order, visibly struggling with his SF-24's brakes and locking up all over the place.

Ferrari later revealed the #16 SF-24 was suffering from a 100-degree-difference between the front left and right brake temperature.

The Italian Formula 1 team's performance engineer Jock Clear was quizzed by the media in Jeddah on Thursday regarding the situation with their brake problems, especially as it emerged that Carlos Sainz - in addition to struggling with illness - suffering car problems that could be brake related.

"We are investigating," Clear responded when asked if Ferrari found a fix for the problem. "Obviously, we've only had a couple of days between now and last week, the factory is a long way away.

"So we've done as much of an investigation as we can, and we're pretty much on top of it with the help of Brembo. We've come here, we don't have any particular issues here. So I think we put that to bed," he claimed.

Asked if Sainz's problem was related to what Leclerc suffered from in Bahrain, Clear did not give a straightforward answer.

"Yeah, not exactly related," he said. "And to be honest, we're not completely on top of the problem, or we haven't completely identified the problem.

"But we're confident that coming here we've made some changes, that will mean that it won't be a problem this weekend," the Ferrari engineer concluded.

With Bahrain and Saudi Arabia being back to back weekends, it is understandable that Ferrari could not do a thorough analysis of the brake problem, but insisting it won't happen around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, while also admitting they haven't fully identified it raises some questions.