Charles Leclerc surprised by his performance: “I didn’t feel it was worth coming second”
With a well-thought-out strategy and efficient tire management, Leclerc hopes to capitalize on his starting pole position to put in a solid performance at the Belgian Grand Prix.
At the press conference after the Grand Prix of Belgium qualifiers, Charles Leclerc was surprised by his result , the second fastest time and on pole position tomorrow thanks to a penalty from Max Verstappen, marking an appearance in the top three that was starting to become rare.
« I am very surprised. In fact, even when I finished the race, I didn’t feel like it was worth a second place . I mean, it was a good race, a clean race. And that’s what you need in these conditions », he admitted. The Ferrari driver attributed this performance to effective tire management in wet conditions.
Leclerc explained that the pressure of the last qualifying session often pushes drivers to make mistakes. « For my part, it was a clean lap, but not incredible. So I am very happy to be in P2. But I really didn’t expect it. I think today, as a team, a P5 would have been a good result. And today, we are P2 and tomorrow, we will start on pole position. »
Sunny weather for Sunday in Spa.
He acknowledged that they didn’t have a magic solution for the wet race. « As Max said, the rain increased a bit at the end of Q3, which may have allowed to find a bit more at the beginning of Q3, but anyway, P1 was out of reach for us today. It’s much better than what we were expecting when we arrived this weekend, especially after yesterday, which was a very tough day for the team. »
Regarding asphalt, Leclerc noted that the new asphalt was drying slower than the old one, which made qualifying a bit tricky. However, he found the grip on the new asphalt quite good, making driving in the rain quite enjoyable.
Interviewed about his prospects for the race, Leclerc indicated that it will be a tough race for us. The conditions will be dry, and we have recently encountered more difficulties on dry tarmac. However, the McLaren is a bit further away than we hoped for. There’s Checo right behind. That will be the main goal.
Leclerc emphasized the importance of tire warm-up in these conditions, explaining the changes made during the outlaps. « Where we improved a lot was to get the tires in the right window. It was super important. And in these conditions, that’s always where you struggle. We made some modifications, especially on the outlap, how much you push and where you push. Then, I felt more comfortable and it helped me for Q2 and Q3. »
The Monegasque was pragmatic about his chances of victory, emphasizing that the starting position is good, but that race pace will be crucial. It is also a circuit where it is quite easy to overtake. So we will need pace, he concluded.
