Second on the grid in Bahrain, Leclerc is ambitious: “I seem to have found my way”

Taking advantage of the underperformance of Lando Norris, only 6^e at the end of this qualifying session, Charles Leclerc pulled off a masterstroke. In front of him, only Oscar piastri and George Russell managed to set a better time, they who seemed to be the most in form since the start of the session on one lap. Nevertheless, with the penalty of one place on the starting grid imposed on the Mercedes drivers, Charles Leclerc will start on the front row on Sunday, alongside the poleman.

Only 6^e of the second part of qualifying, and more generally behind since the start of the weekend, the driver Ferrari did not hide his surprise. “Honestly, I didn't expect to be 3^e, he confided, before Russell's penalty. But I knew there was a chance to get a good time in Q3, that in Q1 and Q2 I just had to be patient for the track to improve in Q3. It was complicated because at the start of Q3, I had a very bad feeling with the tires, but as soon as we put on the new tires it was a little better so I'm happy."

Despite the delicate feelings expressed by all the drivers, the Monegasque is pleased with the work carried out during the first weekends of racing. Although the competitiveness of his car does not allow him to go and glean summits at this stage, the 3^e position appears promising. "It wasn't expected, but I think it's the result of exploring a lot of extreme settings over the last few weekends, and I seem to have found my way in a way. Little by little, I hope we'll have more performance to extract from the car in the coming weekends."

Ferrari's developments finally bear fruit

Three tenths from pole position, Charles Leclerc is above all ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton by almost six tenths. Visibly more comfortable as he completed his final lap, the driver whose car bears the number 16 seems to appreciate the effect of the improvements introduced at the start of the weekend, despite a latent pessimism displayed this Friday. When asked if these have made a difference, his answer is clear.

"Yes, definitely! The team has really worked hard to make these upgrades available here. I don't think it's the best circuit to introduce these upgrades (smiles) but it's still good, it's a small gain he comments cautiously. I hope that next weekend this evolution will represent a bigger step forward. But again, if we are 3rd today, especially when you consider the gaps observed earlier, the evolutions have helped.

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