In Lusail, the Monegasque driver was 332 milliseconds off the time that earned Max Verstappen pole position but had reason to regret missing out on fourth place by just 23 milliseconds to Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren.
Finishing ahead of at least one of the two MCL38s would have been important for the Constructors’ Championship, but the points will be awarded tomorrow, leaving room for recovery despite Qatar’s circuit offering limited overtaking opportunities.
“I think there will be a fight, but I don’t know if it will be a good one because, as we saw in the Sprint, overtaking on this track is really very difficult,” Charles Leclerc pointed out.
“There will be a fight, but I don’t think it will be exciting because overtaking is so hard. It will be more about management. And in that aspect, we’re strong, one of the best cars. But I think the other teams have also made progress since this morning. We’ll see, but we’re not in a bad position.” – the Monegasque driver added.
Charles Leclerc clarified that his comments about race pace and management were directed toward McLaren. Red Bull and Mercedes, he explained, show such fluctuating performances from session to session that it’s hard to consider them consistent rivals for success or a podium finish.
“I compare myself mainly to McLaren because it’s very difficult to understand Red Bull and Mercedes. There are sessions where they’re incredibly strong, and others where they struggle just as much. Today, Max was far behind in the Sprint, and now he’s taken pole. It’s very hard to figure them out.”
Charles Leclerc acknowledged that being close to the two papaya cars could ultimately play to his advantage.
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“So both of my laps were really good, and there wasn’t much more to extract in any of the corners. I was simply doing the same lap time, and that was the best the car could do today. So P5 is, yes, not great, but at the same time, we have McLaren right ahead, so it could have been worse.”
“We’ll need a good start and strong first laps to try to get past one of them and then put pressure on the other. I think we’re quick over long runs, but as I said this morning, it’s very hard to overtake here. So I don’t think we’ll be able to take full advantage of that pace,” the Monegasque added.
Charles Leclerc concluded with a phrase that sums it all up: “I think this has been a return to reality after all the euphoria that has surrounded us lately.”
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