2023-07-09 06:20:29
(Motorsport-Total.com) – Ferrari wasn’t quite as strong as it was last time in qualifying in Spielberg, but with P4 and P5 the Scuderia again delivered a decent result in Silverstone. The only difference: This time the two McLaren drivers pushed their way between the Ferraris and Max Verstappen on pole.
For Charles Leclerc, things went better than last at Silverstone in mixed conditions
“We know that this is not a strong track for us. But all in all it’s not a bad weekend for us,” emphasizes Charles Leclerc, who explains when asked that he cannot answer very clearly whether he is satisfied with fourth place .
He was definitely happy with Q1 and Q2 because his feeling in difficult conditions was “better” than before. “I’ve worked quite a bit on it over the past few weeks because I knew it was one of my weaknesses,” said Leclerc.
The Monegasque has recently had a hard time with mixed conditions, which is why he has changed “a few things”, including his driving style, he reveals. “I still have to make progress, but it was a good step in the right direction,” said Leclerc.
He wasn’t quite so happy with the decisive Q3, because he “didn’t expect the sun to come out so much,” he explains, and reveals: “I was a bit aggressive with the front wing and lost the rear in a few corners, which cost me a lot.”
Leclerc ahead of Norris until just before the end of the lap
Among other things, in turn 15 he once deviated from the ideal line. “It’s a shame because I think the front row was possible,” he said angrily. On Saturday, 0.175 seconds were missing from the time of Lando Norris and thus from the front row of the grid.
In fact, the data shows that Leclerc was up to more than a tenth of a second ahead of Norris on his fastest lap in Q3 to turn 15. There and in curve 16, the Monegasse then lost the crucial time.
“They did a great job,” he says of McLaren, “and I would do the job, too [Piastri] and Lando did today, because these conditions are very, very difficult. Of course, McLaren has taken a step forward.”
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“But both drivers did a great lap,” praises Leclerc, who explains with regard to the race: “Of course it will be difficult, Lando always defends aggressively, but I will be just as aggressive when trying to overtake him.”
He definitely wants to fight for the podium again, “but I think we’ve had a few surprises in the past few races,” he recalls, explaining that alongside McLaren in the race he also expects Mercedes to be “very strong”.
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Lewis Hamilton’s team had “very good race pace” in practice on Friday, he emphasizes and also points out that his own pace is “a bit uncertain”, “since I didn’t drive in FT2”. So it’s “a bit difficult to judge.”
Teammate Carlos Sainz, who was only 0.012 seconds slower than Leclerc in fifth, confirms on ‘Sky’ that Mercedes was “much stronger” in terms of race pace in practice. Nevertheless, he also wants to fight for the podium against Mercedes and McLaren.
His feeling in qualifying was “not that bad”. “Our performance is more or less where we expected it to be,” he emphasizes and explains that the strong McLaren form was “unexpected”, even if the team is always fast in mixed conditions.
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However, he also emphasizes that McLaren managed “a great lap” in dry Q3, which is why he assumes that the shift in the pecking order could also be “track-specific”. It also remains to be seen how the balance of power will be in the race.
In 2022, Sainz was able to celebrate his only Grand Prix victory to date at Silverstone. With a smile he explains that he would of course like to repeat his success a year later. “But we know that we are six, seven, eight tenths slower than the Red Bull.”
“So if nothing happens, it will be quite difficult,” Sainz admits.
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