Saturday in Suzuka presented a mixed performance for Scuderia Ferrari, as Carlos Sainz clinched a commendable second row start in fourth position, contrasting with Charles Leclerc’s struggle throughout the session, ultimately securing only eighth place.
Leclerc found himself using two sets of soft tyres to avoid elimination from Q1, a move that left him with just one flying lap opportunity on a new set in Q3. Despite the SF-24 giving a solid feeling, Leclerc couldn’t fathom the disappointing performance on his side of the garage, chalking it up to possibly being an isolated incident that occurs “once in a season.”
Leclerc shared his frustration, saying: “It’s one of those sessions maybe you get it once in a season. But it’s definitely not a good feeling.
“Everything feels okay, the balance is not way off — we can always improve a little bit like every qualifying.”
Reflecting on his performance and trying many different ways of preparing the tyres on an out lap, he remarked: “If I rely on the feeling at the end of the lap, I’m like, ‘OK, this is quite a good lap’. And then you look at the [leader] board and you are a second off.
“So, when this happens, normally we look more at tyres and the way you bring the tyres to temperature. I’ve tried many different things today and it didn’t work.”
Despite the disappointment, Leclerc anticipates a stronger race pace for Ferrari, stating: “Any of the things I’ve tried [didn’t work]. So, for now, I don’t have the answer.
“However, the positive thing, if we have to find one, is that our race pace looks a bit stronger.
“But on a track like this, qualifying position is extremely important. Today, we didn’t do a good job.”
Leclerc was pleased with the balance of his car throughout qualifying. But the time just did not come to the Monegasque driver as he missed out on P4 by a tenth. It’s something that needs investigating according to the Monegasque.
“Not many people improved [on their final Q3 attempts]… I really don’t think so.
“From Q1 to Q3, it hasn’t been a strong session. Already the first lap in Q1 I was like, ‘The feeling is quite OK’.
“So, normally when it is the case, the time comes with it. Today, it has been completely the opposite. So, we’ve got to look into it.”
