Charles Leclerc left searching for answers after failing to take Sprint pole at US GP
Charles Leclerc voiced frustration after qualifying P3, questioning why they missed pole position for the Sprint race.
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Charles Leclerc (via IMAGO)
The 2024 F1 season resumed with its 19th race in Austin, featuring an exciting sprint race. Ferrari and Charles Leclerc showed promising form in the early sprint qualifying sessions, particularly with a strong performance in SQ1. Both Ferraris looked competitive, but their run ended in SQ3, leaving Leclerc disappointed as he missed out on pole position.
The Scuderia began Qualifying on medium tires, giving both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz a strong advantage early on. However, when they switched to soft tires in SQ3, they noticed their pace dropped, and Leclerc ultimately finished in P3. The 27-year-old expressed his frustration after the session, admitting he felt confident earlier in the qualifying.
He explained that when they moved to the soft compound, Mercedes found something extra in their car’s setup that Ferrari couldn’t match, giving them the edge. While Scuderia’s medium tire performance was competitive, the Monegasque recognized that the difference on the softs cost them pole position.
Yeah, but for some reason [on] the soft [tyre] Mercedes really gained something that we didn’t quite have in our car.
Charles Leclerc told Fomula1
Leclerc explained that his lap felt a bit messy, but not because he made any major mistakes or did anything unusual. Monegasque said it was more about the car not giving him the right feeling during the lap, which made it hard to find the pace needed. Despite trying his best to manage it, he couldn’t get the car to respond the way he wanted, which led to a less-than-ideal run. The Maranello team is analyzing their soft tire performance to understand the pace drop and improve their results in future sessions.
The lap was a little bit scrappy but it’s not like I did anything weird, it just… yeah, the feeling wasn’t great.
Charles Leclerc stated.
Charles Leclerc remains optimistic about recovering positions in the sprint races at the US GP
Charles Leclerc accepted the outcome of the sprint qualifying, acknowledging he gave his best effort. However, he doesn’t want to dwell on it. Instead, the 27-year-old expressed optimism for Saturday’s sprint race, saying P3 isn’t a bad starting position. Leclerc’s determined to recover the spots he lost, focusing on analyzing any mistakes he made and aiming for a strong finish for himself and Ferrari. The Monegasque aims to secure pole position and clinch his third victory of the season on Sunday.
We still have a quali tomorrow to recover, and P3 is not that bad for the Sprint Qualifying. Now we’ll focus on tomorrow and try to recover some positions.
Charles Leclerc expressed.
Certainly, Charles Leclerc currently sits 34 points behind Lando Norris in the individual standings, and with McLaren having the fastest cars on the grid, catching up will be a challenge. However, Leclerc remains optimistic and confident. His recent form has been strong, and he believes that his determination and skill will be enough to secure wins in the upcoming races.
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Gaurang Kadam
(535 Articles Published)