The uncertainty has finally been erased and now, at least on the flying lap, we have the real values on track with Ferrari firmly proving to be the second force behind Red Bull.
Charles Leclerc was the best of the Maranello drivers by signing a 1’30″000 which led him to take third place, so tomorrow he will start from the first box of the second row next to his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr.
Leclerc signed the second time in Q3 after the first round of attempts, but then, back in the pits, he got out of the cockpit. At that point many feared that the SF-23 might have encountered some problems (during Q1 Charles lost some pieces of the pavement on the track), instead it was the result of a very specific choice: that is to safeguard a set of Soft tires for the first stint of the race.
In fact, Ferrari sacrificed qualifying to have an advantage in the first part of tomorrow’s race. Leclerc, as soon as he got off his car, confirmed this strategy, however, underlining how Red Bull will probably be faster thanks to an excellent race pace already shown in tests and repeated in Free Practice 2 yesterday afternoon.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
“We didn’t have any problems. We were battling for pole and it was a surprise, because after testing we didn’t think we could do something like that, nor after free practice. We managed to find the lap for qualifying and it’s “Great. But we have to bear in mind that in terms of race pace we seem to be behind Red Bull. We think we are in a better position to start third but on new tires than if we can start further up, but on used tyres.”
“I hope that these close times also mirror the race. That the cars are close to each other. We were close. The Aston Martin was fast. The Mercedes, at one point in qualifying, appeared very fast and also We’ve been a lot closer than we expected.”
“This gives us an exciting perspective for the future, it makes Formula 1 more exciting. So we also look to the races with optimism. As for the race, I repeat, we seem a little weaker than our rivals at the moment. The new Soft tire it should help us, but I don’t know how much the picture will change. What I can say, however, is that the direction is the right one,” concluded Leclerc.
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