Leclerc, pole with thrill
Charles Leclerc he conquered the world with talent and authority pole position of Austin, taking advantage of rival Max Verstappen’s lap being canceled for exceeding track limits. The Dutchman, who had taken the lead by just five thousandths, has thus fallen to the rear and will be forced to start the Sunday race from the third row of the grid with the sixth fastest time.
And precisely on this lap canceled due to track limits, a nice exchange took place via radio between Xavier Marcos Padros, known in the Ferrari garage as ‘Xavi’ – Leclerc’s track engineer and the Monegasque driver:
Xavi: “So, lap canceled for Verstappen”
Leclerc: “What the f**k, tell me the name first!”
Xavi: “Verstappen, lap cancelled”
Leclerc: “Yes, OK. I had a heart attack in the meantime.”
Xavi: “Yes, OK”.
Leclerc talks about the scare in the press conference
The Ferrari driver was then questioned about the reaction he had on the radio during the press conference: “I just had a heart attack, because my engineer talked about track limits, and then about Verstappen. When I heard track limits, I punched the steering wheel and helmet, then only later did I hear Verstappen and so I thought, “Okay, this is way better news.” That’s why at that moment I said to Xavi: “Please, tell me the name of the rider first and then talk about track limits, so I don’t get too emotional.” That’s all”.
Leclerc fears Verstappen’s comeback
“Max will certainly be in the race, as always Red Bull is very strong. And obviously this year Max is always there, so they will definitely be a threat and we will find them up there in the rankings. For our part, the update that arrived in Japan helped me gain greater confidence in the car and to fine-tune it the way I prefer. So I can have a stronger front end, which I like. Since that development I feel more comfortable with the car. However, there are several races left and there is a lot of work to do. We have to keep pushing, but we have made progress.”
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