Ferrari’s best result in qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix was fifth place for Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque believes he got the most out of the car and the narrow gap to his McLaren rivals was a pleasant surprise for him.
Carlos Sainz posted the seventh fastest time and said the result was roughly in line with the team’s expectations.
Charles Leclerc (5th): “I feel like I did a good job. I rode both laps in the final on the limit and they turned out well.
The weekend is difficult for us, but we have to try to earn as many points as possible. I think we managed to do the maximum today, and now everything depends on the race, because that’s where the points are earned.
The fact that we were slightly behind McLaren was a pleasant surprise for us. On the other hand, the speed of Red Bull and Mercedes was also a surprise. This means that if we finish ahead of McLaren, we probably won’t earn as many points as we would like.
We must remain focused on our own tasks. On Sunday there is the possibility to finish at the front, but the start will be especially important because it is very difficult to overtake on this circuit.”
Carlos Sainz (7th): “Difficult qualification. After the sprint we changed some settings, but we were still two to three tenths short of the pole time. On the last lap I couldn’t use the slipstream, which led to a loss of speed on the straight.
The result is more or less in line with expectations. It is very clear that the car cannot show its strengths on a track of this type. But the race isn’t until Sunday and we have to wait for the finish and then draw conclusions.
We will continue to fight in the Constructors’ Championship. A lot can happen in the race, the gaps are minimal, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
