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 group’s expectations, however the much less constructive information for the Scuderia is that three totally different groups, Crimson Bull, McLaren, and Mercedes, are forward.
“The margins are diminished,” says Frederic Vasseur whenever, which is true, however they’re additionally constant. General, Leclerc misplaced most of his remaining 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 is usually true that the highest 9 positions within the remaining standings match precisely with the highest 9 positions within the first sector, probably the most selective a part of the observe. 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 obstacles at flip 4, however ultimately, he needed to admit that realistically, going past fourth place was not attainable. “I can’t be pleased with a fourth place, however I’m pleased with how I drove and the truth that I understood how one can extract the automobile’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 rivals, we have to analyze this side.” The hope for the primary podium of the season remains to be alive, however the impression is that extra will probably be wanted than what has been seen to date. “Waiting for tomorrow, I don’t count on miracles,” Leclerc commented, “but when we will get off to an excellent begin, a podium place may be inside our attain.”
The race tempo seen in Friday’s temporary long-runs confirmed Ferrari because the third pressure (behind McLaren and Mercedes), however there isn’t a knowledge on efficiency degradation, as nobody was capable of full greater than ten laps as a result of pink flag brought on by Yuki Tsunoda’s crash.
“Will probably be attention-grabbing to see what the race tempo will probably be for each of our automobiles,” Frederic Vasseur emphasised. “Nobody has been capable of do actual lengthy runs to date, however for the reason that begin of the season, now we have 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 observe, and tonight we’ll deal with making 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 end result than anticipated. After ending FP3 in twelfth place, making it to Q3 was removed from sure, then (with heavy respiration) the aim was achieved, with seven thousandths of a bonus over Alexander Albon. “Contemplating how a lot we struggled in free follow, I’d say in the present day was a good qualifying,” Lewis commented. “Clearly, we’re not the place we need to be, however I felt extra comfy within the automobile, and meaning we’re on target. My solely lap in Q3 wasn’t nice, however overtaking is feasible right here, so the aim for tomorrow is to make up floor.”
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