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 constructive information for the Scuderia is that three totally different groups, Crimson Bull, McLaren, and Mercedes, are forward.
“The margins are decreased,” says Frederic Vasseur whenever, which is true, however they’re additionally constant. General, Leclerc misplaced most of his ultimate 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’s also true that the highest 9 positions within the ultimate 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 obstacles at flip 4, however ultimately, he needed to admit that realistically, going past fourth place was not attainable. “I can’t be pleased with a fourth place, however I’m pleased with how I drove and the truth that I understood extract the automobile’s potential,” he commented. “Sadly, in the meanwhile, that is the very 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 facet.” The hope for the primary podium of the season remains to be alive, however the impression is that extra might be wanted than what has been seen thus far. “Waiting for tomorrow, I don’t anticipate miracles,” Leclerc commented, “but when we are able to get off to a great begin, a podium place is also inside our attain.”
The race tempo seen in Friday’s transient long-runs confirmed Ferrari because the third power (behind McLaren and Mercedes), however there is no such thing as a information on efficiency degradation, as nobody was in a position to full greater than ten laps as a result of purple flag brought on by Yuki Tsunoda’s crash.
“It will likely be attention-grabbing to see what the race tempo might be for each of our vehicles,” Frederic Vasseur emphasised. “Nobody has been in a position to do actual lengthy runs thus far, however because the begin of the season, we’ve got proven to be extra aggressive within the race than on a single lap. We have to be able to seize each alternative the race will provide, as overtaking is feasible on this observe, and tonight we’ll concentrate on getting ready for all of the eventualities that might come up in the course of the race.”
It could appear unusual, since we’re speaking about Hamilton, however the seventh-place end was a greater consequence than anticipated. After ending FP3 in twelfth place, making it to Q3 was removed from sure, then (with heavy respiratory) the objective was achieved, with seven thousandths of a bonus over Alexander Albon. “Contemplating how a lot we struggled in free observe, I’d say as we speak was a decent qualifying,” Lewis commented. “Clearly, we’re not the place we need to be, however I felt extra snug within the automobile, and which means we’re on course. 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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