Charles Leclerc, the Monaco driver, explained his decision to do two warm-up laps during the Q3 session at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He stated that this choice was due to his dissatisfaction with the performance of the Ferrari Formula 1 car. Despite trailing behind Max Verstappen from Red Bull for the second consecutive weekend, Leclerc opted for two laps instead of the usual one in the final stage of qualifying. Unfortunately, this strategy did not work out as Leclerc made a small mistake and ended up with the fourth fastest time, eight tenths of a second behind Verstappen. Although he managed to secure a front row starting position, Leclerc admitted that he struggled with the balance of his car, especially with oversteer and the rear not being ready. He hoped that the situation would improve for race day. Leclerc also explained that he felt more comfortable with the car using used tires instead of new ones. Ferrari’s decision to try the two-lap tactic was aimed at achieving a better balance with the car, but unfortunately it did not yield positive results. Leclerc acknowledged that there is still room for improvement and they need to analyze their qualifying performance to do better in the future.
Leclerc set the overall fastest time in Bahrain, despite Verstappen securing pole position. Verstappen’s second place in FP3 raised expectations that he would be competitive in Saudi Arabia.
Instead of just focusing on positions, Leclerc hoped to find the right feeling and balance in the car. Unfortunately, he did not achieve that today, which means there was some untapped performance potential.
However, Leclerc acknowledged Verstappen’s impressive lap and recognized that Red Bull had the advantage. The team will need to analyze what went wrong during qualifying to improve in the future.
Despite Red Bull’s dominance in the previous race, Leclerc remains optimistic that Ferrari can challenge them in the next race. He knows that Red Bull usually has an advantage in race pace compared to qualifying.
Considering the differences observed today, Leclerc acknowledges that securing the first position tomorrow will be a challenge. However, he is determined to give his best and do everything possible to achieve a good result.
