Charles Leclerc won the qualifying round in Barcelona, beating closest rival Max Verstappen by three tenths of a second. His teammate Carlos Sainz qualified third. Ferrari is counting on winning tomorrow’s race but is gearing up for a tough clash with Red Bull Racing.
Charles Leclerc (1st): “Since Friday we are much higher – the team has done a fantastic job. During practice we had a lot of problems with the tires, but after analyzing the information collected yesterday, we adjusted the settings. On Saturday morning we saw on a long series of laps concrete steps forward and now we hope this will be enough to stay ahead of rivals who were stronger than us in the previous two races.
When it comes to qualifying, the session turned out to be difficult. I had a good lap on the first attempt in the final, but then I overdone it in Turn 14 and lost control of the rear of the car. I had one more attempt to take pole and I’m glad I did.”
Carlos Sainz (3rd): “Third position is a good result for tomorrow. We are looking forward to the race, because the innovations seem to have an effect. I continue to struggle with the rear of the car, which feels very light and doesn’t allow me to fly the way I would like. However, we are in a good position to attack in the race. We will do our best to fight for the win.
A big thank you to the mechanics for the work they did to change the chassis. Thanks to all the fans in the stands who have given me great support. I’m looking forward to the race.”
Laurent Mekis, sports director: “A good day in many ways. First, I think Charles had an excellent qualification. Already on the first attempt he was able to win the post, but made a turn. After that he stayed calm and focused and showed a fantastic time.
Carlos was also very good. He has been fast all weekend and came only 10 short for qualifying on the front row. We knew the battle against rivals would be tight, so it’s not surprising that Max Verstappen qualified between Charles and Carlos.
The risk we took with Charles in the second part of qualifying paid off and we will be able to use a more flexible strategy thanks to an extra set of new soft tyres.
We are happy with Saturday’s results, but we are firmly on our feet for the race. We expect rivals to be more competitive than they are now. Every aspect is important – from the beginning to monitoring the condition of the tires. I think rubber will have the hardest time this weekend.”
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
