Charles Leclerc, a driver for Ferrari, had a great record of starting races near the front seven times in a row. But in Australia, he came fifth in qualifying. Then, in Suzuka, he couldn’t do better than eighth in qualifying. However, he managed to finish second and fourth in those races.
When asked about his performance in Suzuka, he said, “If I only look today I’m very happy, I don’t think there was anything we could have done better.” He felt good about his race pace and how he managed the tires during the race. But he’s concerned about his qualifying pace.
He explained, “And whether it’s in Australia or here, race pace has not been a problem – it’s my qualifying pace, which is not something that I’ve been very used to in my career, to be working on my qualifying pace, because normally it’s pretty good on Saturday.”
Leclerc emphasized that his main focus now is to improve his qualifying pace by better understanding how to prepare the tires before the qualifying session. He believes that once he figures this out, his pace will improve during qualifying.
He said, “Because as I said, my laps weren’t that bad. Yesterday, the lap I did was actually really good. But the grip that was available from the tire was just not there.”
Ferrari’s team principal, Fred Vasseur, acknowledged Leclerc’s concerns but also pointed out that Leclerc’s performance in Suzuka was affected by the strategy in the qualifying session.
He explained, “You don’t have to draw a verdict just based on the classification.” Vasseur believes that Leclerc is a competitive driver and expects him to bounce back soon. He thinks that with two qualifying sessions in China, Leclerc will have more opportunities to show his true potential.
