Anyone who starts well is halfway there. It is often an adage that adheres to reality, but Formula 1 free practice is so random that it often leaves one dumbfounded, at least until qualifying.
Charles Leclerc achieved the best time of the day in Free Practice 2 of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the last act of the 2023 season of the world champion Circus, ahead of Lando Norris by a few thousandths and the newly crowned three-time world champion Max Verstappen by just over a tenth. .
Today’s two sessions only partially showed the true balance of power this weekend, however the Monegasque from Ferrari said he was very happy with his team’s start and, above all, with the feeling he managed to establish with the SF- 23 number 16.
“First position was a good way to start the Yas Marina weekend even if we didn’t do many laps. We did a few on the medium tyres, then we switched to the Softs and the feeling was quite good, so it’s a good It’s a sign to start the weekend like this, but Mercedes also started well. They went strong in Free Practice 1, then I don’t know what job they did in Free Practice 2. The good thing was starting so well, because we know that in this end week we will fight with them.”
“I would go as far as to say that this track has become good for us. There is still a free practice session to face, qualifying, where we are often competitive, and the race, where tire management will be fundamental again this weekend We know that we will have to do a good job for Sunday. We will try to do our best.”
This weekend both Leclerc and Ferrari will have the chance to fight for two interesting positions in the World Championships. Max Verstappen and Red Bull have already won the titles, but fourth place in the Drivers’ World Championship and second in the Constructors’ Championship remain up for grabs. Ferrari and Mercedes are fighting for second place, separated by just 4 points.
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23
“As for the fight for fourth place in the Drivers’ World Championship, I have no interest in it. Instead, finishing second in the Constructors’ Championship would be nice. I would really like the team to be able to end this weekend and the season as second force in the World Championship We have had a tough season, which is why everyone deserves to end the season in a good position. As for the Drivers, yes, if I finish fourth it’s good, otherwise it’s the same. In the end I’m interested in winning the title, the other positions don’t make a big difference.”
The Sprint format races are over, at least for this season. Yet the accidents that occurred to Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg in the second free practice session meant that the drivers were able to run very little, making this weekend a sort of Sprint weekend, but without the short race.
“This is certainly becoming a complicated weekend because we didn’t run much today. It’s almost like facing a weekend with the Saturday Sprint, that is when we arrive at the race with very little information. It’s a very similar situation. But it will be very interesting. We’ll have to try to maximize the information we have to bring home as many points as we can.”
“This weekend too we will focus only on ourselves, on the work we have to do to be ready for the race and not on what our rivals do or will do. We need to focus on tire management, because it will be crucial this weekend. Then we’ll see”, concluded Leclerc.
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