Leclerc: I had to compromise in the last session

Charles Leclerc complained about having to use up two sets of fresh soft tires in the first two qualifying sessions, which ultimately led to a loss of rhythm in the final. However, he considers the second result to be a good result. His partner showed the 4th fastest time.

Charles Leclerc (2nd): “I’m a little upset, but we still had a good qualifying time. So far the weekend had not been easy. In all three practices we tried different approaches, and during qualifying I was able to find the optimal approach.

During the first session there were some minor problems. Unfortunately we used up two new sets of soft tires so we had to make compromises in the last session, but at least it was a good qualifying, a good start to the season.

We are in a more favorable position than a year ago, and that is also a plus. Now we have to see what pace we can reach in tomorrow’s race. I think in the second session I completed a lap in about the same time as Max Verstappen in the final, so the car has speed.

I think we missed the rhythm because we had to use a set of soft tires in the last session and then adapt to the new tires again, and that made me lose a bit.

I am convinced that we have taken a step forward, but we must wait until tomorrow to understand the extent of the progress made. We think Red Bull is still ahead of us, I mean, in terms of race pace. Overall we’ll see, but if I get the chance to come forward, as always, I’ll definitely take it, so we’ll see what tomorrow has in store for us.”

Carlos Sainz (4th): “As a rule, we have set up the car primarily with the race in mind, so it cannot be said that we have compromised and sacrificed speed in qualifying for the sake of race speed. Nevertheless, we tried to show a high result today and I was surprised that it was very comfortable to drive during the first two parts of qualifying.

It seemed like everything was under control and we had the chance to get a good lap in the third session. However, we could not find those two to three tenths that we normally add in the final. Now we need to find out why it didn’t work and understand what to do to find those missing tenths next time.

Last year we were slightly inferior to Red Bull in qualifying and this year we even closed the gap with the leaders, but we still don’t know what awaits us tomorrow, when we will have to take into account the relegation of the leaders . rubber, and the cars will be heavily fueled. I think these are the situations where Red Bull’s advantage comes into play, but even some other teams were ahead of us last year. I hope that this season with our new car we will at least not be inferior to our direct rivals.

Judging from the results of the tests, in which everything was very normal in terms of rubber degradation, we can hope that we have been able to achieve improvements in a number of areas. At the same time, Red Bull remains ahead of everyone when it comes to race speed, but tomorrow comes the moment of truth, so we will see what results we can achieve.”