As the top ten shoot-out for the 2022 Australian Grand Prix qualifying began, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz hit the Albert Park Circuit on new Soft tyres. Charles went quickest in 1’18”239, while Carlos did not manage to cross the line before the red flags came out following a crash for Fernando Alonso. Carlos Sainz was on course for a top four time but he would have to try again. The session resumed and Charles produced a masterful lap to take pole in 1’17”868. Unfortunately, Carlos made a mistake on his only flying lap and had to settle for ninth place with a 1’19”408. If it hadn’t been for the red flags, the Spaniard would have started from somewhere on the front two rows.
“It was an intense weekend. Sometimes we were ahead of Red Bull, sometimes behind. This morning they seemed to be in front of us, so we knew there was a lot of work to do. We knew it was going to be tough, we weren’t expecting a smooth qualifying, also because of how the tires behave here. There were some driver who did one push lap, some who did two and others like us who did an extra lap of preparation.” – Scuderia Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies said in an interview for Sky Sport F1 at the end of the qualifying session for the 2022 Australian Grand Prix.
“There was a lot of research into small details. Eventually Charles came out with an extraordinary lap at the end of Q3. It is not the first time that he has done it. I am very happy for everyone in Maranello and obviously for him. Too bad for Carlos, he too had a lot of speed today. But the low tire temperatures played an important role. We had planned to make two preparation laps for both of them, but the delay in starting the car prevented Carlos from being able to do so. He only had one fast lap and it’s never ideal for a driver to change habits at the last second. He did what he could. On the first attempt he got the red flag for a few seconds. This puts in a difficult situation ut the speed he showed was very good and I’m sure he’ll be fighting tomorrow“ – the Ferrari sporting director added.
“It is to soon to know which track is in favor of which team. Here it is not a smooth and linear track like Bahrain and Jeddah. We see many drivers and many cars in difficulty, even ours. The balance is much less perfect than in the first two races. The guys worked very well both in Maranello and here. Charles and Carlos worked very well last night, they were also focused this morning when Red Bull seemed to have an advantage over us. In the end it is only Saturday, tomorrow the fight with Red Bull will be in every lap. There is still a lot of work to do tonight.” – Laurent Mekies concluded after the qualifying session in Melbourne.
Leave a Reply