Leclerc regrets not being able to complete his last lap in Q3

It's been a long time since we stopped counting the outrages that plagued Ferrari's 2019 season. There Team still added a new one in qualifying in Abu Dhabi when Charles Leclerc, slowed down among others by his teammate Sebastian Vettel, was unable to start his last flying lap in Q3 on time. 

At the risk of sounding like conspiracy theory enthusiasts, we wonder if the German would not have tried to give the Monegasque his due in return for their bickering at Monza. Remember that in Italy, Vettel got very angry when his young neighbor in the garage grilled him during the final launch lap when he expected to take advantage of his aspiration. 

Asked about the circumstances of this aborted attempt, Leclerc, author of the 4th time and 3rd on the grid thanks to the penalty of Valtteri Bottas, was evasive and did not seek to argue. 

« My lap for 4th place was very good but there was room to do even better, he regretted. I think 3rd place was doable. It’s quite frustrating not to have been able to be on track to make a final time attempt. 

I don't know what happened. I don't know if we were unlucky or if we could have done something better. Seb was in front of me but there were several cars in the last sector. It's not like he's slowing down for no reason. I didn't want to cause any embarrassment by trying to pass him so I stayed behind. It was fairer but I knew it would be very tight in terms of timing ». 

Vettel, for his part, was able to cross the line before the end of the timer but his tires were not sufficiently warm to lower his best mark. 

« I was still like four seconds behind the car in front (The Red Bull byAlexander albon, Editor’s note) which was still too close, reported the four-time German champion. The tires were too cold anyway and I lost the car in the first corner. I just think there were too many people in the last area ». 

Small consolation for Leclerc, he will start on Sunday on medium tires, a priori better suited for the race, while Vettel at his side will have to start on softs. The 22-year-old revealed however that he had to insist with his team to make a new attempt in Q2 with yellow envelopes. Could it be the Monaco case law, where Leclerc was eliminated in Q1 when he wanted to come out to improve his time?

« At the end of the first lap launched on softs, I asked that we put on mediums because we had nothing to losehe said. I wanted to try my luck. I am very happy to start the race with this compound. The team was nevertheless confident enough to start on softs with both cars but I decided to do my own strategy by putting a 2nd set of mediums ». 

We will see during the last Grand Prix of the season if this obvious attempt at emancipation will translate into a convincing result in the race.