If there is one thing that Charles Leclerc usually doesn’t do well, it is hiding disappointment. Qualifying in Barcelona was not a positive one for Ferrari, with the Monegasque finishing fifth fastest, just ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz. To be honest, a handful of thousandths would have been enough to make the second row all red, but what matters more for the Ferrari driver is the three-tenths gap from pole than the result itself.
“I’m not so interested in thousandths. That is, when we can do better, we always have to try to do it, but what I don’t like are three tenths from pole, because today we didn’t have more to go and look for them. Certainly the fact that I started with the old package didn’t help, because on a track like this we only have 5 or 6 laps to prepare for qualifying, because in the second lap you already lose eight tenths of the tire and you can’t understand anything. It was a bit difficult , but I think I found my confidence again in FP3 and the car in qualifying wasn’t bad”, Leclerc told Sky Sport F1.
“You can always do better on this track, because when you do the first sector too fast, then you lose in the third. If instead you save yourself in the first, you manage to be fast in the last. It’s always a question of finding a balance and not are you ever happy, but today we didn’t have much more and that’s what we have to look at, because today is not a good day”, he added.
For tomorrow’s race, however, he seems to want to harbor the hope of being able to at least fight for a podium placement: “Without thinking about the rain, because you never know what can happen in that case, in normal conditions I objectively believe we will be in the running for the third place. First and second are difficult, because our pace wasn’t enough today so I think we’ll fight with Mercedes.”
Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari
Foto di: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
When he then continued his chat with journalists, he was asked if the updates introduced on the SF-24 had delivered what they hoped for in Maranello: “It is certain that the update we have made is doing what it should do and it is a good step forward. However, it is always something relative, because other teams have also made updates, so it depends on how important the step forward is made by everyone. Surely with this new package we can optimize it more, but I wouldn’t take it as an excuse. I think we’re just lacking a bit of pace this weekend.”
Finally, he told what happened at the end of FP3, when there was contact with Lando Norris after the McLaren driver had obstructed him. The episode was also punished with a reprimand, but Charles assured that it was just a misunderstanding.
“My version is very simple. Lando came out of the pitlane and I was behind him on a flying lap. Then, when he slowed down, I slowed down too: I braked to go alongside him and I made a mistake in the judgement, so I found himself on his right. I didn’t want to get in the way of the cars behind and so I found myself a bit in the middle, looking in the mirrors to try not to get in anyone’s way and then we collided, but it was more of a misunderstanding.”
Read also: