Turkish GP – What if Charles Leclerc took advantage?

Since September 2020, no less than 6 different teams have won in Formula 1. The heavy weights Mercedes et Red Bull obviously, but also Alpha Tauri, Racing Point became Aston Martin, Alpine, and McLaren.

Simple combination of circumstances or signs of a grid tighter than ever? Still, it is no longer completely unrealistic to imagine scenarios that are off the beaten track. Can any of them lead to a victory of Ferrari ?

Fallen top team, the Scuderia has no longer smelled the scent of winning since a success of Sebastian Vettel at the 2019 Singapore GP. After carrying its cross with a failed SF1000 and a limp engine in 2020, the Maranello house has seriously straightened out its situation this season, as evidenced by the two pole positions and four finishes on the podium already recorded.

Even if the aerodynamic revolution expected in 2022 remains its top priority, Ferrari has the means to achieve a victory by the end of the year. The Italian team came very close at Silverstone where it missed a few laps Charles Leclerc to counter the attacks of Lewis Hamilton.

The blow didn't go far for his teammate either Carlos Sainz in Monaco, or more recently in Sochi where he led the first 12 laps. It's difficult to imagine the Spaniard being able to repeat such a performance this weekend in Turkey since he will have to start from the back of the grid after receiving the new version of the Ferrari propeller.

Leclerc has already suffered this grid penalty in Russia. He can now enjoy his new hybrid block without hindrance.

Author of the 3rd and 2nd best times in the day's two free sessions in Istanbul, the Monegasque was only 0''166 behind Hamilton in EL2, on an Istanbul Park track that was much more grippy than during the previous Turkish GP .

However, the leader of the world championship, imperial this Friday, will have to move back at least 10 places on the grid on Sunday after receiving a 4th internal combustion engine. The Briton confided this evening that he wanted “ aim for pole to limit damage ". But Hamilton will start 11th at best.

The Mercedes driver's penalty should have opened the doors to pole and victory to his great rival Max Verstappen. Except that the Dutchman did not have his best day this Friday. This is evidenced by his 5th time in EL2, behind his Red Bull teammate Sergio Pérez, and more than 6/10th of Hamilton's benchmark. “ It's not crazy », whispered Verstappen as he got out of the car.

At the microphone Sky Sports F1, its team principal Christian Horner revealed “ some confusion regarding the settings at the moment. The circuit offers a lot more grip than last year and we are not exactly in the right adjustment window on Max's car. The evening is likely to be long with the engineers as well as on the Milton Keynes side ". Like every Friday in short.

On Thursday, Leclerc hoped that the tarmac at Istanbul Park was still a little slippery, having really enjoyed his driving conditions last year, even if he lost a podium in the very last turns following a too optimistic attack on Sergio Pérez.

Reading the Friday lap times, it appears obvious that the track offers much more grip in 2021. Verstappen thus dominated EL2 of the 2020 Turkish GP in 1'28''330 compared to 1'23''804 for Hamilton this year. But this did not seem to disrupt the progress of the Ferraris. Quite the contrary.

« There is a lot more grip but the feeling is quite similar to last year, strangely, Leclerc reported this evening. We're still slipping quite a bit, even if the lap times are much more competitive.

It was a good day, including during the stints with a lot of fuel, but we shouldn't get excited because it's only Friday and I have the feeling that the big teams still have something under their belt.

I want to keep my head on the handlebars and continue to work hard to try to adjust and improve the car to achieve a perfect performance in qualifying. ».

Behind the usual caution on Friday evening, Leclerc knows that he has a good card to play this weekend, having already signed two pole positions in 2021 (Monaco then Azerbaijan).