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 workforce’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 each time, which is true, however they’re additionally constant. General, 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 it is usually true that the highest 9 positions within the last standings match precisely with the highest 9 positions within the first sector, essentially 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 doable. “I can’t be proud of a fourth place, however I’m proud of how I drove and the truth that I understood the way to extract the automobile’s potential,” he commented. “Sadly, in the meanwhile, that is the most effective we will obtain: we don’t have sufficient grip to enter some corners with the identical pace as our rivals, we have to analyze this side.” The hope for the primary podium of the season continues to be alive, however the impression is that extra will likely be wanted than what has been seen thus far. “Waiting for tomorrow, I don’t count on 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 drive (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 as a result of pink flag attributable to Yuki Tsunoda’s crash.
“It will likely be attention-grabbing to see what the race tempo will likely be for each of our automobiles,” Frederic Vasseur emphasised. “Nobody has been in a position to do actual lengthy runs thus far, however because the begin of the season, we now 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 supply, as overtaking is feasible on this observe, and tonight we are going to deal with getting ready for all of the situations that would come up through 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 purpose was achieved, with seven thousandths of a bonus over Alexander Albon. “Contemplating how a lot we struggled in free apply, I’d say immediately was a good qualifying,” Lewis commented. “Clearly, we’re not the place we wish to be, however I felt extra snug within the automobile, and which means we’re on track. My solely lap in Q3 wasn’t nice, however overtaking is feasible right here, so the purpose for tomorrow is to make up floor.”
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