Charles Leclerc, this time the magic is not there
A disappointed Charles Leclerc presented himself in front of the journalists’ microphones of after his seventh place in the qualifying session for the 2023 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne. The Monegasque driver believes that he could have achieved a better result, perhaps with better management of the final minutes of Q3: the nervousness was already clear following his post-quali team radio message after the last fast run and the Monegasque certainly didn’t hide it from the media either.
Charles Leclerc’s words
“We were afraid the rain would come, so we decided to push right away. Unfortunately we missed too much to be in front, but we need to see with the team what happened with Carlos in the first sector in Q3. It was clear that I had to push on that lap, but Carlos was ahead of me in the first sector and was preparing his tyres: it’s a shame, but I don’t mean that we would necessarily have done better. We have to improve this aspect“, The Monegasque told Sky Sport F1.
“We should have done more”
“I think I have a more racing car, but it doesn’t justify our seventh place today. We had more pace, and we should have done a better job. Am I surprised by Mercedes? Honestly, I’ve never worried about them, I’ve always stayed focused on Ferrari.”
The radio team after qualifying
The Monegasque, immediately after ending the qualifying session, expressed his displeasure in the radio communication with his race engineer Xavi Marcos. Charles Leclerc, together with Ferrari, had chosen a single run strategy, trying to find the time immediately, without the double preparation lap. All for fear of rain that never came: “A shitty Q3, with no preparation laps. The rain didn’t come. A big thanks to Carlos for the slipstream, I got some speed and it’s always nice.” – Carlos said sarcastically.
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Max Verstappen is a long way off
Not only Charles Leclerc, but also Carlos Sainz (5th) was very far from Red Bull: the Ferrari SF-23 cars are half a second behind the world champion at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne. The Monegasque is waiting to see the race pace of his SF-23, but the Ferrari certainly starts the Australian Grand Prix as fourth force, even behind the Mercedes, which found an unthinkable leap in performance from Q2 to Q3, unlike the Maranello team that appeared less competitive than in FP3.
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