From qualifying at Suzuka we can say: the Ferrari, in the dry, is there. In Japan it is pole positon by Max Verstappen who closes in front of two Ferrari by Leclerc and Sainz.
Victory? Not impossible
The pole was missed by the Reds, in particular to Charles Leclerc for just 10 thousandths. However, Ferrari has shown that it is there and tomorrow the start will be fundamental. Starting by overtaking Verstappen could steer the race in the right direction for the Maranello team.
Leclerc: "It is forbidden to make a mistake in strategy"
Leclerc knows it and, as soon as qualifying is over, said.
“Honestly, I'm quite happy with my lap, even if I struggle a lot with the rear in the last chicane. But it's not a clear mistake, it's the result of pushing so hard in the second sector, where we were very fast. Maybe we overheated the tires a bit, but in qualifying you always have to push to the end. This is what I did, perhaps too much. When it comes to thousandths, perhaps that would have made the difference”.
“In my opinion it will be important to make the right calls with the weather. Looks like tomorrow there will be rain near here. I'm happy. It will be a difficult race, it will be difficult to predict what will happen, but that's okay. In my opinion it's a good exercise, we have to try to make the most of it and make the right choices. The feeling is good, if it's dry Red Bull usually takes a step from Saturday to Sunday. Let's see if it does anyway. In the wet, I think we have a good pace. In Singapore our choices were certainly the right ones, even if the track is very different. We must continue to work in that direction."
STATEMENT SOURCE: FormulaPassion
