Charles Leclerc, Ferrari driverDisclosure/Ferrari
Published 05/05/2024 11:17
It was a solid qualifying session for Ferrari ahead of this Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz placing second and third respectively despite failing to improve during the final laps. Behind Max Verstappen, from Red Bull, the promise is to attack at the start.
Leclerc went after the Dutchman at the start of the sprint this Saturday, but Max Verstappen closed the door on him. The idea is to repeat the action this Sunday. Leclerc remains hopeful he can pose a challenge to the season leader in the race, adding: “It’s a long race tomorrow (Sunday). This morning (in the sprint) we showed good pace, so I hope we can put Max under a little more pressure. pressure”.
After finishing the sprint in second place earlier in the day, Leclerc continued his good form at the start of qualifying. However, his final effort in Q3 was not enough to knock Max Verstappen off pole, and the Monegasque acknowledged after the session that he was struggling with his tires in the second and third sectors.
“It felt like it was on the limit,” commented Leclerc when asked how the car was on the track. “Obviously, it was very close to Q3, where we started to push for the last one or two tenths, with the tires in sectors 2 and 3, overheating a lot.”
The hope is for improvement. “Sector 1 was actually feeling pretty good, but in Sectors 2 and 3 we were losing a lot. Today was where we lost a little bit of time.”
