Charles Leclerc claims Ferrari ‘left some performance’ in Qualifying to favor Sunday’s race at the Chinese GP

Charles Leclerc highlighted that the Scuderia focused on the main race with its car set-up after a disappointing Qualifying,

Charles Leclerc claims Ferrari ‘left some performance’ in Qualifying to favor Sunday’s race at the Chinese GP

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Fred Vasseur (via IMAGO)

Scuderia Ferrari had a mediocre Qualifying at the Chinese GP. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have failed to be a real threat to Max Verstappen this weekend including the sprint race. However, despite starting the Sunday race from P6, Leclerc remains optimistic over the team’s prospects after revealing Ferrari’s plan for the Grand Prix.

The Monegasque driver highlighted that Maranello had made a big step sorting out its tire issues this weekend. However, Charles Leclerc claimed that the Scuderia lost out in the first sector of the Shanghai International Circuit. Moreover, the 26-year-old claimed that Ferrari had sacrificed its Qualifying set-up to get more out of the car in the race.

Today I think it wasn't all about rubber preparation, because we made a step on this aspect. It is more a question of characteristics of the first sector: I knew that in qualifying we would leave some performance there to favor tomorrow's race.
Charles Leclerc told it.motorsport.com
YouTube video

Leclerc affirmed that the Italian team had a good set-up for the Grand Prix. However the 26-year-old was disappointed for missing out on a good starting position for the race. Charles Leclerc highlighted that points were awarded on Sunday. As such, the Monegasque driver would hope for a better run tomorrow. 

We have a good set-up, it's just a pity that in a tenth and a half we were all there... It is Sunday that counts.
Charles Leclerc stated

Charles Leclerc claims he ‘did not expect’ to qualify P6 for the Chinese GP

Scuderia Ferrari is believed to be the closest rival of Red Bull this season. Carlos Sainz demonstrated the Italian team’s chances after emerging victorious at the Australian GP. However, Ferrari’s disappointing result in Qualifying could cause Maranello to lose out on crucial points in its battle against Milton Keynes for the championship.

Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc (via IMAGO)

Charles Leclerc admitted that he did not expect to be so far off Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez as the two managed to lock out the front row for Red Bull. The Monegasque driver was happy with his pace in the first Qualifying session. However, due to the wind conditions in Q3, Ferrari seemed to have lost the peak performance of the SF24.

I did not expect this situation. In Q1 the feeling was quite good, then in Q3 the wind changed and we lost a bit of a feeling with the car.
Charles Leclerc affirmed

Certainly, Charles Leclerc would be hoping to fight for victory in the race on Sunday. The Scuderia could manage to gain places at the start if the set-up works as expected. However, it is clear that Leclerc and Sainz are in for a difficult drive in the Chinese GP. Nevertheless, fans would be hoping to see the Prancing Horse take another win this season.

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