Leading in free practice, also leading in qualifying. As predicted by the drivers themselves on the eve, the Las Vegas track continues to be a hunting ground for Ferrari, capable of placing both of its cars ahead of everyone even in the official tests. A 1-2 which confirms the superiority of the SF-23 in qualifying on a track which makes straights and restarts from slow corners two characteristic elements, well digested by the Italian car.
As on other occasions, the Red team managed to extract something more on the flying lap, also thanks to good tire preparation, another fundamental aspect of this event given the layout of the circuit and the asphalt temperatures below 20°C . A pole by Charles Leclerc, who put his teammate, Carlos Sainz, behind him, trailing by just 44 thousandths.
Although the Monegasque is satisfied with the final result, he did not hide a certain disappointment for his laps in Q3, in which he was unable to extract the full potential of the car. The two attempts, in fact, were characterized by some errors: in the first run, what slowed him down were two small errors in turn 6 and in turn 12, while in the last lap he was unable to put together a good first sector, especially for a light long in turn one.
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23
Precisely these aspects negatively influenced his two attempts in the final heat, even if the time recorded in the last attempt still proved sufficient to achieve pole position. “Of course I’m happy. The first [pole] in Las Vegas. Obviously it is an incredible event and starting from pole tomorrow is fantastic”, said the Ferrari driver, who however will not have his teammate at his side, who will be forced to start outside the top ten due to the penalty received for the battery replacement after the accident in FP1.
“However, I’m a bit disappointed with my laps in Q3. I think my best lap was in Q2, but the track evolution is remarkable here, so I should have done it in Q3, but I didn’t. But once again it’s like this and we start from pole, so I can’t complain.” Looking at the partials, in fact, we can see how Leclerc never managed to repeat the reference that he had recorded in Q2 in the second sector, always leaving a few tenths behind.
Although the Monegasque wasn’t able to put everything together, showing the potential he had in hand, his lap was still enough to take pole. The hope is to achieve victory tomorrow, trying to keep Max Verstappen behind him who, as admitted on Friday after free practice, will be an opponent not to be underestimated in the race, given that Red Bull is generally more competitive over long distances than over long distances. flying lap: “I didn’t do a good enough job [in Q3]but it was enough for [conquistare] the first position. So that’s all we need. Now we are fully focused on tomorrow to try to put everything together in the race. Usually this is where we lack something, so I hope we can put everything together and win here,” added the Cavallino driver.
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