The fourth place will still allow Charles Leclerc to compete for a podium finish, but at the end of qualifying, he expressed satisfaction only with the quality of his lap, not the final result.
“Happy is a strong word, but I’m certainly happy with my performance today,” the Monegasque admitted after the Suzuka qualifying. “I had a really good lap, and I don’t think I left much on the track. I don’t think I could have done much more than I did.”
“I didn’t have a tow on the straight, okay, but I think the others were in the same condition. It was fantastic, but, I mean, I’m only in fourth place, and that’s certainly a pity. We lose too much in the first sector to Red Bull and McLaren, but then in the second and third sectors, we find ourselves making up a bit.”
In the race, Charles Leclerc hopes to compete with the McLarens for a place on the podium. His pace is quite similar to what Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris showed in Free Practice 2 yesterday afternoon, but this similarity in pace will make overtaking on the track challenging. Therefore, a good race strategy will be necessary to pass at least one of them, without underestimating a more than probable comeback by Sergio Perez, who was disappointing today.
“We know that often there’s a big difference between Max and Checo with empty tanks, but with a full tank, their performances are much closer. That’s why I’m sure Checo will be very fast tomorrow. Yes, we know McLaren is fast, but we can also compete with them because we have a good race pace. Of course, making overtakes on the track will be tough, so we’ll need to be very strategic. That aspect will be crucial. Or even at the start.”
Tire degradation is one of the weaknesses of the SF-23. However, Charles Leclerc does not seem too concerned about this, but rather about tire overheating. Managing the tires will be essential in the race to avoid sudden collapses.
“Tire degradation has not been a problem for us so far, and we believe it may not be in tomorrow’s race either. We have to watch out for overheating, which is essential on this track. So it will be a matter of tire management.”
Ferrari has shown throughout the weekend that it lags behind Red Bull and McLaren in the first sector. This is where rivals build a significant advantage over the Reds, and for the Monegasque, this is an area where the Scuderia must work during the winter to make improvements.
“We pay a lot in the first sector, both to Red Bull and McLaren. During my fast lap, I thought I had a great first sector, but I was distant by several tenths. But this is what we need; we have to analyze our weaknesses by comparing them to theirs to understand how to improve in the future,” Charles Leclerc concluded. at the end of the qualifying session for the Japanese Grand Prix.
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