Charles Leclerc laments underwhelming qualifying at the Australian GP, claims he ‘didn’t find the right feeling’

Charles Leclerc failed to put in a strong lap during the Australian GP Q3 qualifying session.

Charles Leclerc laments underwhelming qualifying at the Australian GP, claims he ‘didn’t find the right feeling’

Charles Leclerc (via IMAGO)

Charles Leclerc will start the 2024 Australian Grand Prix from the third row during tomorrow’s race. He did not have the best of outings during the recently concluded qualifying sessions and despite his best efforts, was only able to manage a fifth-place finish in Q3.

While Max Verstappen put in a belter of a lap, Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, was not able to put his SF-24 through the absolute wringer. He ended in fifth place with a time of 1:16:435.

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Seeing the final result, the Monegasque driver was understandably disappointed!!

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I just didn't find the right feeling today, for some reason. There was that feeling in FP3. The front wasn't as strong, and then we went aggressive on the front wing. The race is long, and there are four DRS zones. I still believe that Red Bull has some margin, but if we can get ahead of the car at the start, then I can put pressure on Checo and the cars ahead.
Charles Leclerc said during the post quali interviews

Charles Leclerc despite the poor result, is not willing to give too much attention to it. He is looking forward to tomorrow’s 58-lap Grand Prix with the intention of making up as many places as possible. He is targeting a podium finish at the least.

Charles Leclerc feels Australian GP is Ferrari’s ‘best shot’ at beating Red Bull

While Charles Leclerc will be starting the Australian GP from fifth place on the grid, his teammate, Carlos Sainz, is right behind Verstappen. The Spaniard pulled out a lap good enough for second place on his final Q3 push lap.

Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc (via IMAGO)

Ahead of the ongoing weekend, Leclerc insisted that Australia could prove to be Ferrari’s best chance of beating Red Bull.

I will say that we are in a better position than the first two races. I think they are still ahead, but we might have our best shot this weekend since the beginning of the season.

Charles Leclerc said in an interview with Autosport

The 26-year-old’s prediction has so far proved to be true around the free-flowing Albert Park F1 circuit. The SF-24 has worked very well around the track and keeping in view the might of Sainz as a racing driver, he could potentially land Ferrari’s first win of the 2024 F1 season. Moreover, last year’s race at the track proved extremely chaotic and if something on the same lines happens this year, fans could see a real upset.

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