Nov 18, 2023 at 12:18 p.m
Charles Leclerc knows better than anyone that his Ferrari falls short in most races to make it difficult for Max Verstappen. That scenario is also real in Las Vegas, but the Monegasque secretly hopes that things will turn out well in the gambling city.
“We know that Max will be very strong,” Leclerc was realistic after qualifying. The Ferrari driver took pole, which he regularly achieves. On Sundays the picture is invariably the same. Leclerc, who is fast over one lap, cannot even come close to keeping up with the dominant Verstappen. The Dutchman starts second next to him.
“But now the confidence is quite high. I’m starting at the front and the race simulations with a lot of fuel on board also showed some good signals,” said Leclerc. “That doesn’t mean we are better than Verstappen, but it is better than usual. So hopefully I can convert that pole into a victory.”
Leclerc was favorite for pole. The Ferrari warms up the tires faster than the Red Bull, which came in handy on the cold night of Las Vegas. Yet he was not completely satisfied. “I’m happy, but my laps in Q3 were far from flawless. While in Q2 I perhaps drove my best laps of the year. I thought I could repeat that in Q3, but I went too far.”
Yet the self-critical Leclerc did not want to complain. “The car felt great and I enjoyed qualifying. How can you not enjoy it when everything runs so smoothly?”, laughed the Monegasque.
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Summary: Verstappen must leave pole in Las Vegas to Leclerc
‘We’re flying this weekend’
The smile on teammate Carlos Sainz’s face was hard to find. The Spaniard finished second, but has to drop ten places back on Sunday because he hit a manhole cover in the first free practice on Friday. As a result, the necessary parts had to be replaced in his car, which resulted in a grid penalty.
Still, he was happy with the pace that the Ferrari put on the asphalt in Las Vegas. “We are flying this weekend, we are dominating every session. Charles just has that little bit more confidence in the car,” he explained his second time.
Sainz has a good explanation why the Ferrari is strong in the gambling city. “If you ignore the first two corners, this track is a mix of Singapore and Monza, and those were our strongest circuits. So we knew we had a good chance of pole. Whether we also have the speed tomorrow is still a question mark.”
Singapore’s Sainz trick doesn’t work in Las Vegas
Leclerc also drew a comparison with Singapore, where Sainz won. Leclerc simply cannot use the decisive trick with DRS that the Spaniard pulled off there on Sunday. “There you can easily drive one and a half seconds slower without being overtaken. That’s very different here. So it’s more about speed here. But if we have a chance anywhere besides Singapore, it’s here, so I’m going for it.”
“I wish I could compete for the win, but I have to finish twelfth,” Sainz sighed. The Spaniard is counting on an advance, although he has doubts about overtaking. “I expected it to be easier, but it is quite difficult here to follow another car. You quickly lose confidence when braking. So I expect to move forward, but I don’t know at what pace yet.”
2023-11-18 11:18:00
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