Charles Leclerc admits he ‘didn’t expect’ to qualify on the front row for Belgian GP

The rain-borne circuit of the Belgian GP enabled Charles Leclerc to secure a front-row start.

Charles Leclerc admits he ‘didn’t expect’ to qualify on the front row for Belgian GP

Charles Leclerc (via IMAGO)

Ferrari had started off the 2024 season in great form after closely following the dominant Red Bull. However, Scuderia quickly lost the development war to McLaren and was overtaken by the team mid-way through the season. Regardless, Maranello hoped to revive performance and perform well at the Belgian GP. Charles Leclerc has done so and secured the front-row start for the main race.

The Belgian GP had put forth highly tricky conditions especially due to light rain. Charles Leclerc scored a lap time good enough to P2 but was promoted to pole due to Max Verstappen‘s grid penalty. Upon this, Leclerc reckoned that he didn’t expect such a solid performance especially due to the conditions. Additionally, the team will have to focus on the main race and their strategy.

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I definitely did not expect that this weekend, with the tricky conditions to do something above our expectations. We need to focus on tomorrow and what will happen when the rain is gone.
Charles Leclerc said during post-session interview.

Apart from this, Leclerc didn’t hesitate to acknowledge that the rain massively helped the team. Without the rain, Ferrari was fighting with Mercedes for the P5 position at best. However, the uncertainty in weather helped Scuderia end up ahead of Brackley and assisted Leclerc in securing a front-row start.

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Without the rain, P5 was the position we were fighting for with the Mercedes - the rain helped us, but I'm not going to complain. I'm really happy.
Charles Leclerc added.
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Charles Leclerc claims pole position at Belgian GP ‘isn’t easy’ to hold

The Spa-Francorchamps turn 1 is a tight right-hander which provides a great inside line for the P2 driver. However, Leclerc’s pole position start could enable Sergio Perez to a better line off the start. As a result, the 26-year-old anticipates a great battle immediately from lap 1 onwards.

Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc (via IMAGO)

Leclerc pointed out that P1 wasn’t ‘easy to keep up’ at the Belgian GP circuit but was still hopeful of providing stern competition to the rivals.

It's not the easiest first place to keep on the first lap but I'll see, every start is different.
Charles Leclerc concluded.

Ferrari will have to keep upgrading their package to enable any chances of competition with McLaren. The two teams are extremely close to one another in the constructors championship. Hence, both teams will attempt their best to overcome one another in the development war and overtake towards the end of the 2024 season.

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