F1 | Leclerc: “We'll sort out the qualification and we'll have great satisfaction”

Charles Leclerc put a damper on his black Saturday in Suzuka, completing a fast, thoughtful race, in some ways even delicate when he had to ask the tires to perform, but without exaggerating to make them last long enough to barely make a pit stop.

This resulted in a good comeback which saw him go from eighth place on the grid to final fourth, just a few seconds behind teammate Carlos Sainz who scored yet another podium this start to the season.

What was most impressive was the pace and management of the medium compound he started with. Charles made it last, maintaining an enviable pace which led him to make a single stop – the only one among the leading drivers – putting the McLarens, the Mercedes and also the feared Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso behind him, which appeared fast on the pace race in the free practice held between Friday and Saturday.

In short, the Red seems to be solid and strong in the race. A considerable step forward compared to last year, also considering how the tires are managed and no longer brutally ground, as happened just 12 months ago.

“I was very happy with the race”, began a Leclerc who appeared relieved after yesterday's terrible qualifying. “Honestly, since the beginning of the year we have been very strong in the race and the feeling has always been there. Only in Bahrain did we not show it, but we had a problem with the brakes”.

“This result certainly demonstrates once again our progress. I'm happy with the race, but if we look at the weekend as a whole I'm not happy, because if I'm happy with a fourth place then it's better for me to stay at home.”

While things are going rather well in the race, the question mark linked to qualifying remains for Charles. The flying lap has always been one of his strong points since he raced in Formula 1, both in his debut in Alfa Romeo and in his adventure with the Maranello Scuderia. For two races now, however, the element that damages the final result has been revealing itself.

“In Australia qualifying didn't go well, yesterday I also had some difficulties because I wasn't able to find the right window for using the tyres. Since I arrived in Formula 1, qualifying has never been a problem for me, it's always went quite well.”

“For the past two races I've been struggling to put the tires in the right window and I paid the price both in Melbourne and here in Suzuka. But the pace in the race is there and I'm not worried. Now we have a week to work and understand what I'm not doing correctly in the qualifying preparation laps. I'm sure that as soon as we manage to find an answer, we'll get great satisfaction.”

Going into the specifics of what happened this weekend, Leclerc explained his sensations in the flying lap which led him to stop in eighth place on the grid, but also the reason for such a disappointing performance: an inadequate tire preparation lap to put them in the right window of use. This leads to having a grip that is far from the desired one.

“It's really bad to say you're satisfied with your lap and find yourself in eighth place. It really seems stupid, it's not like me to do something like that. But the lap is good, but the tire doesn't give me the grip I need. I'm waiting because there are some small differences in tire preparation on the launch lap. I have to work on that, I know.”

“Like I said, it's always been a strong point, but it's been a problem for two races in a row. So I have to focus on that. But every time I've worked on something, we've improved pretty quickly. So I'm not worried.” , concluded the Ferrari driver.