Why did Leclerc lose pole position in Q1 in Bahrain?

He will have missed two tenths, and a set of soft tires at Charles Leclerc to clinch the first pole position of the 2024 season, in Bahrain. The Monegasque failed against Max Verstappen and will start in second place this Saturday for the first Grand Prix of the year. The pilot Ferrari, who was quick on the fast lap exercise with the SF-24, regrets a missed strategic choice from Q1 which would have cost him pole position in Q3.

" I'm a little disappointed. We had a good qualification. So far the weekend has been difficult, we tried a lot of things in Free Practice and then I found a good set-up in qualifying, explained Charles Leclerc. Q1 was a bit tricky. Unfortunately, we put two new sets of soft tires [in Q1], which compromised us a little bit in Q3, but overall it was a good qualifying, a good start to the year. We're in a better place than we were a year ago, so that's good. Now we have to see the pace of the race tomorrow. »

Leclerc hopes for good race pace against Red Bull

Charles Leclerc may be disappointed since his Q2 time (1'29"165) was faster than the time achieved by Max Verstappen in Q3 to gain pole position (1'29"179). But the Monegasque only had one attempt with new tires in the last session, a consequence of the two sets used in Q1… “I think we lost a bit of pace [with] the set of soft tires used in Q3. I had to readjust to the new tires and lost a bit there, but overall it was a positive qualifying. »

By starting on the front row, Charles Leclerc has the possibility of battling with Max Verstappen at the start of the race... but what will happen in the long relays? “I am convinced that we have taken a step forward, but we have to wait and see tomorrow to what extent we have taken a step forward, he added regarding the race pace of the Ferrari SF-24. We really think that Red Bull still a good step ahead of the race. We will see, but if there is an opportunity, as always, I will take it and we will see what happens tomorrow. »

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