2023-07-23 07:49:01
Before being edged out by Zhou Guanyu in Q3 at the Hungarian GP, Charles Leclerc revealed he thought Ferrari’s simulations highlighting Alfa Romeo’s potential pace were incorrect.
Zhou Guanyu achieved an astonishing fifth place in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, having managed to get ahead on the grid Charles Leclerc and his teammate Valtteri Bottas.
The Monegasque, who felt he produced almost the best lap possible, was asked regarding his concerns regarding the pace displayed by the Scuderia Ferrari : “It’s not really a concern as I think it’s very difficult to predict the pace of others between qualifying and the race, and from circuit to circuit. I didn’t expect to have a Alfa Romeo ahead of me for tomorrow’s race, so I don’t know how they will perform in the race.”
Regarding the sudden resurgence of Alfa Romeo, he added: “They were very strong, yesterday the team showed me the simulations on the level we thought they would be at, and honestly they were very good. Yesterday I thought, ‘Maybe there’s something wrong, maybe it’s a mistake’, and they proved me wrong today, because the team expected it.”
“Again, we have a lot of work to do. It’s very hard to understand from what I know, I haven’t checked, but I don’t think they had any particularly big improvements for this weekend. But from weekend to weekend everyone sees changes, difficulties one weekend and speed another, so it’s very difficult to understand.”
Charles Leclerc during the Hungarian GP.
Carlos Sainz, released in Q2, for his part complained of sensations “strange” with the medium tyre, which was mandatory for this second part of the session. “I had a bit of a strange feeling with this medium compound throughout the weekend. Every time I’ve used it, for one reason or another, we’ve had a really hard time getting it to work in the first sector. It was even harder than the hard tyre.”
“So I knew that the second part of the session would be more difficult for us. In Q1 we did well, but as soon as I put that rubber back on in Q2 I was sliding a lot in sector 1 and I was never able to complete a decent lap.”
“The lap wasn’t too bad, but I lacked grip. It’s a shame, but it only came down to two thousandths, and in this new F1, those two thousandths cost you a lot.”
Regarding the pace of some of his rivals, Sainz added: “McLaren, Alfa Romeo, they are all fast here this weekend. I don’t know if it’s a peculiarity of the circuit or if it’s just a question of the characteristics of the track, we haven’t managed to develop the car or the preparation of the tyres, we have to analyze the situation.
“But we were on the limit all weekend with the medium compound, and even with all the compounds we just weren’t in the top four or five like we should have been or like we were before.
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