Not a great moment for Charles Leclerc. The qualifying session for the 2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix confirms the Monegasque’s difficulties in preparing the tires for a single lap. A technical choice by Ferrari, which with the SF-24 has already shown its intention to focus on race pace. However, #16 seems to suffer much more than his Maranello teammate, with Carlos Sainz securing fourth place and the second row in view of tomorrow’s race at the Suzuka circuit.
Already from Free Practice 3, Charles Leclerc’s frustration was evident. Via radio, he complained to Xavi Marcos, his race engineer, about the time lost in the pits. The Ferrari driver wanted to try changes on the front wing to correct slight understeer, but the session ended before he could complete a new flying lap.
“It seems he was sent out too late and couldn’t set a time,” Damon Hill explains on Sky Sports. “He was very agitated and a bit frustrated with his team. But this situation has been seen with Charles before. I wonder if the driver, on certain occasions, could insist more with the team on when to go out on track.” – the former Formula 1 driver believes.
“They have a stopwatch both in the car and in the garage, I imagine it’s a bit more complicated than that. But you know the time needed to do a lap, so you know when to go out. You can hurry things up in the pits. I guess they’ll explain that it’s not possible…”
However, Scuderia Ferrari showed excellent race pace during the last Free Practice session. Challenging the cars ahead, if tire degradation is confirmed, could be within reach for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. At the same time, the weather remains an uncertainty for the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.
Source: f1ingenerale
