Charles Leclerc’s fourth place and Lewis Hamilton’s seventh are a real reflection of the present standings. Lando Norris’ mistake allowed Charles to maintain his place within the second row, assembly the staff’s expectations, however the much less optimistic information for the Scuderia is that three completely different groups, Pink Bull, McLaren, and Mercedes, are forward.
“The margins are lowered,” says Frederic Vasseur each time, which is true, however they’re additionally constant. Total, Leclerc misplaced most of his remaining hole (0.376s from Max Verstappen, 0.366s from Oscar Piastri, and 0.263s from Norris) within the first sector of the Jeddah circuit, as identified by Frederic Vasseur. However it is usually true that the highest 9 positions within the remaining standings match precisely with the highest 9 positions within the first sector, probably the most selective a part of the observe. That is the place the distinction must be made.
Charles Leclerc hoped for one thing extra, particularly after seeing Lando Norris’ McLaren crash into the boundaries at flip 4, however in the long run, he needed to admit that realistically, going past fourth place was not attainable. “I can’t be proud of a fourth place, however I’m proud of how I drove and the truth that I understood methods to extract the automotive’s potential,” he commented. “Sadly, in the mean time, that is one of the best we are able to obtain: we don’t have sufficient grip to enter some corners with the identical velocity as our opponents, we have to analyze this side.” The hope for the primary podium of the season continues to be alive, however the impression is that extra will probably be wanted than what has been seen to this point. “Looking forward to tomorrow, I don’t count on miracles,” Leclerc commented, “but when we are able to get off to a superb begin, a podium place is also inside our attain.”
The race tempo seen in Friday’s transient long-runs confirmed Ferrari because the third drive (behind McLaren and Mercedes), however there isn’t a knowledge on efficiency degradation, as nobody was in a position to full greater than ten laps because of the crimson flag attributable to Yuki Tsunoda’s crash.
“It will likely be fascinating to see what the race tempo will probably be for each of our vehicles,” Frederic Vasseur emphasised. “Nobody has been in a position to do actual lengthy runs to this point, however for the reason that begin of the season, we now have proven to be extra aggressive within the race than on a single lap. We must be able to seize each alternative the race will provide, as overtaking is feasible on this observe, and tonight we’ll give attention to making ready for all of the eventualities that would come up through the race.”
It might appear unusual, since we’re speaking about Hamilton, however the seventh-place end was a greater end result than anticipated. After ending FP3 in twelfth place, making it to Q3 was removed from sure, then (with heavy respiration) the objective was achieved, with seven thousandths of a bonus over Alexander Albon. “Contemplating how a lot we struggled in free apply, I’d say right now was a decent qualifying,” Lewis commented. “Clearly, we’re not the place we need to be, however I felt extra comfy within the automotive, and which means we’re on track. My solely lap in Q3 wasn’t nice, however overtaking is feasible right here, so the objective for tomorrow is to make up floor.”
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