Charles Leclerc elaborated on the extent of the damage resulting from his off-track incident during sprint qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix. This mishap led to a session that he described as “compromised,” with Leclerc stating that he had done all he could to improve his seventh-place finish.
Leclerc expressed his belief that he could not have significantly improved his Ferrari’s qualifying performance for the Chinese Grand Prix sprint. His off-track excursion during SQ3 had hampered his efforts, leaving him in a compromised position.
As weather conditions deteriorated, the remaining 10 drivers opted for intermediate tires for the final sprint qualifying session. However, the track surface, infused with bitumen, became increasingly hazardous.
Leclerc’s incident occurred early in the session when he went off-track and made contact with the barrier. Although he managed to continue, he acknowledged the impact of this mistake on the remainder of his session.
“To be honest, the very first out lap was extremely tricky – it was very difficult to switch on the tyres,” Leclerc remarked, reflecting on the challenging conditions.
“I tried to be a bit aggressive, but obviously I lost it out of Turn 8, and that compromised a little bit our qualifying because then the steering wheel was a little bit bent.
“But all in all, I don’t think there was any miracles – there wasn’t much more we could have done.”
Leclerc is widely recognized for his exceptional one-lap speed, frequently regarded as one of the top qualifiers in Formula 1. However, the driver with 23 pole positions to his name has faced challenges in this regard during the current season.
This struggle has been underscored, to some extent, by the enhanced qualifying performance of his teammate. Carlos Sainz will start the sprint race from the grid one row ahead of Leclerc, securing fifth position.
“Obviously, on my side, again I didn’t maximize qualifying, which I’m not happy with,” commented Leclerc on his performance.
“If I have to look at the positives, it’s that I think on the dry I did some big steps forward and on that I’m happy, because I’ve been working a lot on the preparation of the tyres in the dry and it seems to be paying off – for today at least. But let’s see tomorrow, the race will be long.”
When questioned about his sentiments regarding the chance to apply those lessons during the sprint, the driver with five race victories responded, “Yeah, I’m looking forward to being able to show my dry weather pace.”
He continued, expressing his anticipation for the opportunity, “Obviously, I was looking forward to today, to try and show that, but yeah, with the rain in SQ3, I didn’t. So, we’ll look to tomorrow to try and maximise our sprint race and then see with the rest.”
