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 group’s expectations, however the much less optimistic information for the Scuderia is that three totally different groups, Crimson Bull, McLaren, and Mercedes, are forward.
“The margins are diminished,” says Frederic Vasseur every time, which is true, however they’re additionally constant. Total, Leclerc misplaced most of his last 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 additionally it is true that the highest 9 positions within the last standings match precisely with the highest 9 positions within the first sector, probably the most selective a part of the monitor. 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 doable. “I can’t be pleased with a fourth place, however I’m pleased with how I drove and the truth that I understood the way to extract the automotive’s potential,” he commented. “Sadly, in the mean time, that is the most effective we will 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 will probably be wanted than what has been seen up to now. “Waiting for tomorrow, I don’t anticipate miracles,” Leclerc commented, “but when we will get off to 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 isn’t any knowledge on efficiency degradation, as nobody was in a position to full greater than ten laps because of the purple flag attributable to Yuki Tsunoda’s crash.
“Will probably 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 up to now, however for the reason that begin of the season, now we 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 monitor, and tonight we’ll give attention to making ready for all of the eventualities that would come up throughout the race.”
It could 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 follow, I’d say right now was a decent qualifying,” Lewis commented. “Clearly, we’re not the place we wish to be, however I felt extra snug 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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