Charles Leclerc’s fourth place and Lewis Hamilton’s seventh are a real reflection of the present standings. Lando Norris’ mistake allowed Charles to maintain his place within the second row, assembly the workforce’s expectations, however the much less constructive information for the Scuderia is that three totally different groups, Purple Bull, McLaren, and Mercedes, are forward.
“The margins are decreased,” says Frederic Vasseur every time, which is true, however they’re additionally constant. General, Leclerc misplaced most of his ultimate hole (0.376s from Max Verstappen, 0.366s from Oscar Piastri, and 0.263s from Norris) within the first sector of the Jeddah circuit, as identified by Frederic Vasseur. However it’s also true that the highest 9 positions within the ultimate standings match precisely with the highest 9 positions within the first sector, probably the most selective a part of the monitor. That is the place the distinction must be made.
Charles Leclerc hoped for one thing extra, particularly after seeing Lando Norris’ McLaren crash into the boundaries at flip 4, however in the long run, he needed to admit that realistically, going past fourth place was not doable. “I can’t be proud of a fourth place, however I’m proud of how I drove and the truth that I understood extract the automotive’s potential,” he commented. “Sadly, in the intervening time, that is one of the best we will obtain: we don’t have sufficient grip to enter some corners with the identical pace as our opponents, we have to analyze this facet.” The hope for the primary podium of the season remains to be alive, however the impression is that extra will likely be wanted than what has been seen to this point. “Looking forward to tomorrow, I don’t count on miracles,” Leclerc commented, “but when we will get off to a great begin, a podium place may be inside our attain.”
The race tempo seen in Friday’s transient long-runs confirmed Ferrari because the third pressure (behind McLaren and Mercedes), however there is no such thing as a information on efficiency degradation, as nobody was capable of full greater than ten laps as a result of purple flag attributable to Yuki Tsunoda’s crash.
“Will probably be attention-grabbing to see what the race tempo will likely be for each of our automobiles,” Frederic Vasseur emphasised. “Nobody has been capable of do actual lengthy runs to this point, however for the reason that begin of the season, we’ve got proven to be extra aggressive within the race than on a single lap. We must be able to seize each alternative the race will provide, as overtaking is feasible on this monitor, and tonight we are going to give attention to getting ready for all of the eventualities that might come up throughout the race.”
It could appear unusual, since we’re speaking about Hamilton, however the seventh-place end was a greater consequence than anticipated. After ending FP3 in twelfth place, making it to Q3 was removed from sure, then (with heavy respiratory) the purpose was achieved, with seven thousandths of a bonus over Alexander Albon. “Contemplating how a lot we struggled in free observe, I’d say as we speak was a good qualifying,” Lewis commented. “Clearly, we’re not the place we need to be, however I felt extra comfy within the automotive, and meaning we’re not off course. My solely lap in Q3 wasn’t nice, however overtaking is feasible right here, so the purpose for tomorrow is to make up floor.”
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