Charles Leclerc, the pilot from Monaco, 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 being behind Max Verstappen from Red Bull for the second consecutive weekend, Leclerc chose to do 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 when 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 that 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. In FP3, Verstappen’s second place 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.
Cependant, Leclerc a reconnu l’impressionnante performance de Verstappen et a admis que Red Bull avait l’avantage. L’équipe devra analyser ce qui s’est mal passé lors des qualifications pour s’améliorer à l’avenir.
Malgré la domination de Red Bull lors de la course précédente, Leclerc reste optimiste quant à la capacité de Ferrari de les défier lors de la prochaine course. Il sait que Red Bull a généralement l’avantage en termes de rythme de course par rapport aux qualifications.
Compte tenu des différences observées aujourd’hui, Leclerc reconnaît que décrocher la première place demain sera un défi. Cependant, il est déterminé à donner le meilleur de lui-même et à faire tout ce qui est possible pour obtenir un bon résultat.
