Charles Leclerc: « I am sure that pole position was not possible today. »

Author of the second fastest time during Q3 at Spa, Charles Leclerc was pleased with his team’s performance this Friday, despite the changing conditions which he does not particularly enjoy, with a very wet track drying in the sun. “It wasn’t a bad qualifying session for us, especially in these conditions, it’s always difficult to get everything right. We’ve had two or three races in a row in these conditions, and I didn’t have the right feeling. I’ve worked a lot in these conditions, half wet, half dry, because I wasn’t really comfortable a few races ago,” he admitted during the press conference.

“I was making too many mistakes and it was difficult to build a solid foundation. So I changed my approach a little bit and it seems to be working better. (…) Today, I felt much better in the car, so it was positive (…) it seems to have paid off”, he rejoiced. The Monegasque driver has already stated to the media several times that for one reason or another, his aggressive driving style doesn’t adapt well to these changing track conditions.

While he finished Q3 8 tenths behind Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc is not deluded about his chances: “I’m sure the pole was not possible today,” he told the media. “We went out a bit too early for that last attempt, but the pole was clearly out of our reach today and Max was too fast, but we could have been a bit closer if we had gone out later in Q3. That being said, we have an excellent starting position for Sunday. Let’s see how it goes.”

Bothered by Kevin Magnussen in Q2

This qualification didn’t happen without difficulty for the Ferrari driver, especially during Q2, when all the drivers were improving their times on the drying track. “It was really difficult. I also had Kevin [Magnussen], who crashed into the wall and continued in front of me [the Danish driver received a three-place penalty for impeding me during qualifying, editor’s note]. So, I couldn’t manage to do a fast lap at the beginning of the session and then all the pressure relies on this last lap that needs to be completed, and in these conditions, it wasn’t easy. But in the end, everything went well. So, I am happy. That being said, there is still a lot of work to do to catch up with the Red Bulls,” he explained.

If the pole position was not possible according to him, Charles Leclerc will still start in first position on the starting grid on Sunday, benefiting from Max Verstappen’s five-place penalty. Does he have a chance to secure his first victory this season? The Monegasque doesn’t believe so. “I’m not confident, especially with the two Red Bull guys right behind. I think they have a much better race car than ours,” he says.

“It’s great to start in pole position and it gives us a good chance of achieving an excellent result. But saying that we will aim for victory, I think that’s probably a bit too optimistic. If an opportunity presents itself, I will try to seize it, but I think it’s going to be difficult to keep them behind,” he concluded.