There are days in which you can make mistakes and others in which it is better to avoid, the difficulty is in understanding what day it is. Both Leclerc and Sainz saw the barriers of Jeddah close, a slight contact in the case of Carlos, a close encounter on Friday for Charles, as confirmed by the damage suffered by his car. The difference was made by the moment, and it’s a notable difference, as Leclerc will start the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from fourth while Sainz will start from fifteenth.
After the blow on Friday, the Monegasque had said it publicly: “I have to be forgiven”, and so he did, placing his ‘red’ in a second row that was not in the forecasts of the team and probably not even of the most fierce Ferrari club in the world. .
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Leclerc has that ‘thing’ there, namely the ability to know how to bring out everything in the moment that counts, even doing a little punching with a logic closer to the verdicts of the simulations than to willpower. It was not an easy Saturday for Charles, fresh from the blow on Friday. “This morning my feet and head hurt – confessed Leclerc yesterday after qualifying – but nothing serious”, and in fact once he got into the car (perfectly reassembled) he found his pace lap after lap.
After passing into Q3 with medium tires, a goal which Sainz missed due to the accident at turn 11, Leclerc completed his first ‘run’ by lapping in 1’28 “481, an eighth time that made us think about the possibility of playing with the second set of soft the sixth position.
Then came the exploit, with Leclerc who managed to file more than four tenths by overtaking Perez, Gasly, Norris and Tsunoda. “Charles proved once again that he is one of the best drivers around with a fantastic lap”, commented Laurent Mekies after the surprising time with which Leclerc closed qualifying.
“At turn 22 (where Leclerc was the protagonist of the accident on Friday) I closed my eyes – joked Charles – and… it worked! In that section, I no longer felt so safe after what happened yesterday, but in the last lap of Q3 I tried, and I gained two tenths, only at that point. At one point I lost the rear once again, and I honestly thought the same scene would happen yesterday, but this time the car regained grip and it went well. After passing in that point I was very happy ”.
Leclerc is a river in flood: “I don’t think we could have expected anything more than this result, the lap was really good and really at the limit. On this type of track it’s all a question of trust, and after what happened yesterday it wasn’t easy. But in the end it went very well, it is incredible that after the blow in FP2 the engine was not damaged, as well as the chassis ”.
Not far away, Sainz’s disappointed expression tells a whole other story.
“It’s hard to digest – explained the Spaniard – I was fast, with full confidence in the car all weekend and a simple skid compromised the entire qualifying session and tomorrow’s race. In Q1 the situation was very promising and I could be fast even with the medium compound. Unfortunately in Q2 I skidded due to a sudden understeer in turn 10 and I lost control of the car. I managed to avoid a big crash but pinched the wall with the rear wing. It was unexpected, because in all the test sessions nothing like this had ever happened ”.
Carlos Sainz Jr, Ferrari SF21
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Now the look is at the 50 laps scheduled today, and at what are the objectives that Leclerc and Sainz will aim for. Net of the risks (and opportunities) that may arise at the start, it seems to be a good opportunity for Charles to aim for a weighty result.
Positive feedback came from Friday’s long-runs, and the top speed saw both Leclerc and Sainz on average in good positions. And then, as Leclerc underlined…: “There will be a lot of tension between those who start in front of me, for them the championship is at stake. My role is to stay out of trouble, and I hope to get a good result ”.
Charles put himself in the best possible position to seize an opportunity, eyes open and no mistakes …
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