Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc comments on qualifying at Barcelona following his pole position
An inhuman pole. The protagonist of the Saturday it is undoubtedly Charles Leclerc who takes home the first position of the Spanish Grand Prix. Again, despite the many difficulties, Leclerc proves to be the best driver on the grid in qualifying.
The strength of the champion
An absolutely particular qualification on the part of the Monegasque, who also made a mistake in Q3. And it is precisely in these circumstances where talent emerges of the number sixteeni who with only one attempt available, did not forgive. “In the last attempt – declared the pilot of the red- in my mind I just wanted to repeat the same lap as the first one, but without the mistake. Obviously in turn 14 there was more pressure after the spin, but in the end it went really well. On the first lap of Q3 I thought there was more grip than the previous lap but I just pushed too hard with overheated tyres. That's why in the next lap I tried to brake a little earlier and go more cautiously, I knew I was in a good lap. I knew I only had one chance and managed to squeeze out all the potential. Pole here is still very nice, but I don't think it's my best. Singapore 2019 comes to mind, where the ride there was really exciting".
Watch out for long runs
The most important issue, however, is linked to tire management. Ferrari suffered much from decay in the day of Friday, a problem that should not be underestimated. “Tyre management will be very important. In the last two races we have seen that we are particularly weak from this point of view compared to Red Bull. We have completely changed the car from between PL2 and PL3 and in the morning the long runs improved. It's difficult to make predictions, we don't have many references because we were the only ones to run simulations on Saturday morning. I don't know where we are compared to the others, but the feeling is that we have improved. I don't think our car is particularly harsh. In general, driving is very difficult with this type of single-seater, very wobbly at the rear"
“It was something we thought about before qualifying. At that moment I then asked the team if I could actually do it, because obviously they had much more data available. In Q2 I didn't have new tires so I didn't really know how the grip had changed since Q1, but we still managed to do a great job. I am very very happy."
STATEMENT SOURCE: FormulaPassion
