Mercedes at their maximum potential, Leclerc lacking grip
Mercedes drivers serene. Charles Leclerc realistic. The latter acknowledges that the Mercedes are superior and that the Ferraris, although fast on the straight, are not on the same level in the corners. A look back at the statements of Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, and Charles Leclerc, the fastest in qualifying.
An observation emerges from these qualifications: the Ferraris are not on the same level as the Mercedes. With the Silver Arrows putting more than six-tenths over Charles Leclerc and more than a second over a disappointing Sebastian Vettel, they appear untouchable. The Monegasque will have to be opportunistic to hope for a path to victory, which seems relatively compromised.
Dominant since the beginning of the weekend, the Mercedes team will now have to protect its position to soar towards another one-two finish.
Best qualifying times in 1:28.319 – Lewis Hamilton:
Impressive performance by the Englishman who, after seeing his teammate dominate the session, came to beat him in the last attempt and furthermore set a new circuit record by nearly one and a half seconds.
When asked if he feels untouchable, the five-time world champion retorts: « Valtteri has been very fast all weekend, I was just catching up with him little by little, I’ve never felt untouchable. »
True metronome, the Brit once again managed to get the best out of his car at the right time despite strong winds on the Castellet circuit: « In the last lap, I was almost half a second ahead, which I lost in the penultimate corner. I’m satisfied that I extracted the car’s potential, and the team did a fantastic job. The wind was getting stronger and could be felt around the track. I pushed a bit too hard in the last corner, and the gust took my rear end away. »
✌️😎✌️#FrenchGP pic.twitter.com/r5u4eUNnr1
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) 22 juin 2019
Second qualifying session in 1:28.605 – Valtteri Bottas:
Clearly disappointed, the Finn wore a closed expression during the post-qualifying press conference, spending very little time discussing the session.
Also hampered by an increasingly present wind as the session went on, Valtteri Bottas considers himself unlucky:
« Sometimes it’s down to small details, the wind changed during the session and for the second attempt I wasn’t lucky as I didn’t have a car in front. »
Without hiding his disappointment, the former Williams driver still praises his teammate’s performance: « Lewis improved his laps as the session progressed, he deserves to be on pole ».
The Finn can still rely on his chances with a good start, the long straight leaving room for numerous possibilities: « There’s the long starting straight, so there is a chance. »
BOTTAS: “It’s been super-close between Lewis and I all weekend and there’s only been a few hundredths between us. We’ve had a strong car all weekend. There’s a long run into Turn 1, so there’s a chance…”#F1 #FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/hyyT1rHSH8
— Formula 1 (@F1) 22 juin 2019
Third qualifying session in 1:28.965 – Charles Leclerc
After giving his all in his single-seater, the young Monegasque is realistic about the weekend’s performance and has an objective view of the situation: *We lack grip everywhere. To be honest, we are fast in the straights, but in the corners, we are still struggling too much. This weekend, there’s still something we haven’t completely understood. We will try to clarify it to attempt to improve in the future.*
On his chances of victory, Charles Leclerc has little hope but clings to a few possibilities: « The car was performing well, but we know that the race will be difficult. The race stint tests on Friday were complicated. Getting a good start will be important, and we will see at that moment what we can do. Being in front will make the task easier. »
LECLERC: “Today is the best we could have done. A good start will be very important… hopefully tomorrow will be a good race”#FrenchGP 🇫🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/cL9i91D89C
— Formula 1 (@F1) 22 juin 2019
Our special correspondent in Le Castellet
