The Ferrari driver took his twentythird career pole position in Formula 1 at the new Las Vegas layout, equalling Niki Lauda. After leading during the practice session on Friday, Leclerc was the first driver to sign a lap in the 1:32s during Q2, replicating the great lap time in Q3 twice.
In spite of the pole achieved, the Monegasque driver wasn’t totally satisfied with his performance as he said after the session:
“I am of course happy. For the first in Las Vegas, it is an incredible event and to be starting from pole is great, but I am a bit disappointed with my laps in Q3.
“I didn’t do a good enough job but it was enough to do the pole. Now we have to see how we do in the race, normally that’s where we struggle.”
Later on, he expanded on his performance in Q2, confessing the fact that he believes his best run of the day wasn’t the one awarded with pole position:
“It just was a cleaner lap compared to my first one in Q3, that’s why I did a step forward from the first to the second lap.
”But all in all, they weren’t quite quick, my second lap during Q2 was a really really good lap, honestly.
“I was just trying to achieve exactly the same in Q3, and taking track evolution maybe gain three or four tenths, but I just tried to overdo it during the first run of Q3, and then I lost a lot. The second run in Q3, I managed to do it a bit better, but still too many mistakes. So, the two laps in Q3 weren’t really good.”
Photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari
Leclerc, who is yet to win a race in 2023, also talked about his victory chances for the race tomorrow:
“Well, the confidence is high because we are starting first, so it’s the best position to start from. On the other hand, we know that Red Bull is going to be really strong, and Max is obviously going to be really strong in race pace.”
“But I feel like we have had positive signs this weekend on the high fuel, more than other races, so I hop that I can convert that pole position into a win,” he added on his quest to secure a second win of 2023 for the Prancing Horse team.
Unlike some of his colleagues, he admitted to being a fan of the unusually shaped Las Vegas layout where he scored his fifth pole of the season in spite of his earlier doubts:
“I personally enjoyed it. I mean, street tracks are my favorites. When I first saw the layout I was like ‘oh, this is going to be a boring track’, but then from the first laps on the simulator it felt good, I like the curve riding in 6, 7, 8, 9.
“I think it’s a good track. I hope it’ll produce good racing, yesterday it wasn’t as easy as I would have expected to overtake but let’s wait until tomorrow,” he added, looking forward to the penultimate race of the year.
