Healthy disappointment
The pole position in Austria didn’t come, but the fact that the Ferrari mechanics inside the garage were angry about the 48 thousandths that separated Charles Leclerc from Max Verstappen in this first qualifying of the weekend is a good sign for the entire world of the Scuderia. In Sunday’s race, the Monegasque – who celebrated Ferrari’s last Formula 1 victory on this track 12 months ago – will start from the front row. Right behind, in third position, will be Carlos Sainz in the sister car. The two SF-23 cars are ready to put pressure on the reigning champion’s Red Bull’s RB19.
Great work
The progress made in this qualifying session was likely also due to the updates brought to the Red Bull Ring by the Maranello team. Charles Leclerc, as soon as he got out of the car, immediately highlighted the work done at the factory, and the same was echoed by team principal Frederic Vasseur. Speaking to Sky Sport F1, the French manager appeared satisfied with the evident step forward taken by his side. “We had a good qualifying session, and we’re not far from pole,” commented the team principal. “Having two cars in the top three positions is a nice reward for the team. They pushed like crazy at the factory to have everything ready for this weekend.” – he continued.
Effective updates
“I’m very satisfied for us, but even more so for them,” Fred Vasseur added. “It’s only a step, but it’s very valuable. We would have preferred not to be ‘angry’ in the garage,” he joked about the disappointed reaction of the men in red. “But second place is still a good result.” Tomorrow will be the day dedicated to the Sprint, with the Shootout and the race, while Sunday will see a restart from today’s defined grid. “Last weekend we had a poor qualifying but a good race,” recalled the former Sauber boss, highlighting the ups and downs in Canada. “Now we need to have a good race after a good qualifying. We haven’t completed the job yet.”
Track limits nightmare
The many deleted lap times due to track limits violations have led Ferrari, as well as many other teams, to use more sets of tires than expected. However, according to Fred Vasseur, this won’t be a problem for the rest of the weekend. “Seven drivers behind Carlos are in the same situation regarding tires. Only Max and Norris still have sets left, but when there are problems with track limits, you always have to attack because if they cancel your laps, you end up outside the top 10, so I think it was the right decision. This weekend is more challenging because you only have one hour to try everything on Friday morning, and you have to test everything: DRS, fuel load, tires. It becomes difficult to do everything in one hour,” he concluded. “But it’s the same for everyone.”
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