Tag: Charles Leclerc

Leclerc paces Australian GP practice again on tricky tires

Charles Leclerc held the top spot in final practice ahead of Max Verstappen at the Australian Grand Prix. Leclerc set the fastest time of the weekend so far on the overcast and cool early Melbourne afternoon, lowering the benchmark to 1m16.714s with …

Charles Leclerc held the top spot in final practice ahead of Max Verstappen at the Australian Grand Prix.

Leclerc set the fastest time of the weekend so far on the overcast and cool early Melbourne afternoon, lowering the benchmark to 1m16.714s with a last-gasp lap after the checkered flag.

It was his second run on a set of the soft tires, which have proved difficult to master for most drivers at Albert Park.

The tires in use this weekend are the softest in the Pirelli range and one step softer than those used last year following complaints the tire supplier had been too conservative in 2023.

Verstappen notably struggled to get to grips with Pirelli’s softest compound, complaining late in the session that the rubber was moving around too much in the high-speed corners relative to the medium tire. It took him two cool-down laps and a late blast on a very used set of softs to string together a lap without suffering overheating, putting him just 0.02s behind Leclerc.

Sainz, who is still recovering from his appendectomy undertaken two weeks ago, had held top spot until the final flurry of laps but ended up third and 0.077s shy of his leading teammate.

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Mercedes was much improved on Saturday morning after a night of analysis at the factory in Brackley. Lewis Hamilton in particular looked much happier in his W15, running 0.092s off the pace after what he described as his worst Friday of the year and despite early concerns about straight-line speed in the opening runs of the session.

Russell followed 0.08s further back in the sister car.

Fernando Alonso led Sergio Perez in sixth and seventh ahead of Oscar Piastri, the home favorite perpetually troubling the top of the time sheet after he “[stopped] being an idiot in turn 1,” allowing him to match the leaders in the first sector.

Lance Stroll led home Lando Norris in ninth and 10th, both more than 0.3s slower than their teammates.

Yuki Tsunoda led home a tight bottom half of the field separated by just 0.29s from 11th to 18th.

Valtteri Bottas followed in 12th ahead of Alex Albon, who was driving Logan Sargeant’s surrendered chassis after an overnight switch between teammates to keep the Thai driver in the grand prix.

Zhou Guanyu was 14th ahead of Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo.

Pierre Gasly completed the order in 19th at 1.676s off the pace.

Sargeant is no longer taking part in the grand prix after the Williams team used his chassis to replace teammate Albon’s crashed one, having not manufactured a spare tub in time to ship to Melbourne.

Only a matter of time until Bearman gets F1 seat – Leclerc

Charles Leclerc says Ollie Bearman has proven it is only a matter of time before he gets a full-time seat in Formula 1 after finishing seventh on his Ferrari debut at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Bearman was called up as a last-minute replacement …

Charles Leclerc says Ollie Bearman has proven it is only a matter of time before he gets a full-time seat in Formula 1 after finishing seventh on his Ferrari debut at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Bearman was called up as a last-minute replacement for Carlos Sainz as the Spaniard required surgery on Friday morning after being diagnosed with appendicitis, leaving the 18-year-old just one practice session before he took part in qualifying. Starting from 11th after missing Q3 by less than 0.04s, Bearman drove an impressive race to climb to seventh ahead of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton, scoring points on debut and catching the eye of his temporary teammate.

“It’s incredibly difficult [to do],” Leclerc said. “He’s been extremely impressive. Extremely impressive. I think everybody has seen that. Obviously having him in the same garage, seeing how he worked and how he approached this whole situation with so much calm was very, very impressive. Obviously with so much excitement as well, but it was really impressive.

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“I think he has shown the whole paddock what he was capable of, and I think after a performance like that, it’s a matter of time before we see him permanently in the Formula 1 paddock.

“He completely deserves [driver of the day]. He’s done an incredible job. From FP3 he was straight on the pace, in qualifying he did a great job and missed Q3 by so little, and I think today he’s been incredible. I mean, seventh on your first race in Formula 1, having done only FP3, in a new car, it’s just hugely impressive. I’m sure he’s extremely proud but everybody has noticed how talented he is and I guess it’s just a matter of time before he comes here to Formula 1.”

Leclerc’s sentiments were echoed by George Russell, who along with his teammate Lewis Hamilton were among the first to congratulate Bearman on his performance when he jumped out of the car in parc ferme.

“He did an amazing job,” Russell said. “Coming in at a circuit like this, as well, is extremely difficult, and he exceeded everybody’s expectations. I’ve followed him briefly in the past, but I think he caught a lot of people by surprise, and that was a [big] result for him.

“It’s extremely difficult, but if you’ve got the speed and the talent, then it’s another race car. He clearly had the confidence straight from the off, pushing the car to the limit. So yeah, respect to him for the job he’s done, and fully expect to see him on the grid next year or the year after.”

Gap to Verstappen smaller than Leclerc and Russell expected

Charles Leclerc says the gap to Max Verstappen is smaller than he expected after setting the fastest time in qualifying but only ending up second at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Verstappen took pole position with the best lap in Q3, but Leclerc was the …

Charles Leclerc says the gap to Max Verstappen is smaller than he expected after setting the fastest time in qualifying but only ending up second at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Verstappen took pole position with the best lap in Q3, but Leclerc was the only driver not to improve in the final part of qualifying, and his Q2 effort was quicker than Verstappen’s pole lap. The Ferrari driver found the result bittersweet given the potential in his car, but is focused on what it says about the performance comparison with Verstappen.

“We could have done lots of things, but at the end we are P2 and three-tenths off,” Leclerc said in the media conference for the top three qualifiers. “I think it’s closer than what it looks on the timesheets, but this is a good thing. We were expecting Red Bull to have a bit more margin than what there was today, so we are a bit closer than what we thought. But the biggest question mark is obviously tomorrow in the race. I’m pretty sure they have a bit more margin than what we’ve seen today. But again, let’s wait and see.

“I think it is pretty in line with what we expected, and if anything it is a bit better than what we expected because, again, there was 0.2s or 0.3s in Q3 we could have found realistically in the car.”

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George Russell qualified third — 0.3s off Verstappen — but is less optimistic about the chasing pack’s chances in race trim.

“I agree with Charles — I think it was better than expected,” Russell said. “I think we all knew it was going to be very close between ourselves, Ferrari, Aston, McLaren and Checo [Perez], and I think the gap in qualifying today was probably slightly closer to Max than we expected.

“I think race pace is the important one and we are expecting probably 0.5s deficit — that’s what we thought after testing, but we’ll see tomorrow.”

With Verstappen raising his eyebrows at the claim, Russell asked the Dutchman: “You don’t agree?”

MV: “Half a second?!”

GR: “Is that too small?”

MV: “No, I think it’s way too big. But if you say that now then it is better tomorrow.”

GR: “Underpromise and overdeliver…”

Bahrain GP Qualifying: Verstappen takes pole, Ferrari not far behind

A tight qualy saw the reigning champion place first yet again, but the pace of the Ferraris could be something to watch on Saturday.

Our first qualifying session of 2024 has concluded, and the reigning champion of the last three years is starting right where he left off.

It was once again Max Verstappen at the top of qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday, turning in a Q3 time of 1:29.179 to take pole position. He’ll start ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ George Russell at the top of the grid.

It was Ferrari who topped Q1 and Q2, however. It was Carlos Sainz who topped Q1, a session that spelled disaster for the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, who finished 19th and 20th, respectively. The Kick Saubers of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu were also eliminated in Q1, while the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton barely survived in 10th to move on to Q2.

Leclerc finished first in a Q2 session that ended up being a nail-biter for the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who finished ninth and 10th — they’d end up placing seventh and eighth in Q3. Nico Hulkenberg of Haas had an impressive lap to place sixth in Q2 and he ended up 10th in Q3, starting in a points place on the grid Saturday.

In the end, though, it was Verstappen who took the crown. He ended up 0.228 seconds ahead of Leclerc in P2 and 0.306 seconds ahead of Russell in P3, making it a close qualy. Verstappen’s teammate in Sergio Perez didn’t perform as admirably, finishing fifth behind Sainz.

Here are how the full qualifying results from Bahrain shaped out for the first race of 2024:

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Leclerc keeps Ferrari fastest on final day of testing amid more drain issues

Charles Leclerc ensured Ferrari ended fastest on two of the three days of pre-season testing, although the final morning’s running was again impacted by drain failures. The track was red flagged after just 27 minutes of the opening session as …

Charles Leclerc ensured Ferrari ended fastest on two of the three days of pre-season testing, although the final morning’s running was again impacted by drain failures.

The track was red flagged after just 27 minutes of the opening session as another drain had lifted on the entry to Turn 11. The failure was located just a matter of yards further along the entry curb from where the same problem occurred on day two, but on this occasion it took over an hour to carry out repairs.

Once the track reopened at 11:45 local time, the decision was made to run uninterrupted through to 7pm rather than have the usual pause for lunch, in order to make up for lost time.

Conditions were the best of the three days as the wind strength dropped and provided more consistency from lap-to-lap, but in another example of the varied run plans that teams opt for during testing, the lap times were slower than Thursday, with Leclerc’s 1m30.322s nearly 0.4s off teammate Carlos Sainz’s best of the week.

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Like Sainz, Leclerc used the C4 tire to post his time, and he was joined at the top by George Russell who also used the C4, ending up 0.046s adrift. Speaking after driving in the morning session, teammate Lewis Hamilton backed up Russell’s view that the W15 was a nicer car to drive than its predecessor, and offers Mercedes a more solid platform to build from.

Zhou Guanyu was third after his own late C4 lap, following Russell in the final half hour of running when the track was at its fastest. It did round out an encouraging afternoon for Stake, given Zhou managed 85 laps after taking over from Valtteri Bottas.

Those late efforts pushed Max Verstappen down to fourth place, albeit with his 1m30.755s coming on the C3 tire and much earlier in the day than the two cars immediately ahead of him. The Red Bull driver took over from teammate Sergio Perez and added 66 laps to the three figures he managed on an impressive opening day.

“If it would have been worse then we did a very bad job!” Verstappen said of the RB20. “For sure the car is better than last year’s car, but I think everyone on the grid has a better car than last year.”

Yuki Tsunoda was fifth for Visa Cash App RB and only 0.02s adrift of Verstappen, though he was another who used the C4 compound. Alex Albon was the only driver to exceed 100 laps on Friday as Williams was the sole team to not split running, and his sixth-fastest time was joined by Oscar Piastri and Fernando Alonso of the afternoon runners who were all within 0.85s of the quickest time.

There were encouraging signs from Haas on the final day, with long runs taking Nico Hulkenberg up to 89 laps and a best time of 1m31.686s. While that in itself might appear unremarkable, the 2024 car’s race pace was solid and team principal Ayao Komatsu told RACER that Haas modified its schedule on Friday as it found itself slightly ahead of where it expected during its testing program.

Despite more solid pace, McLaren endured another frustrating spell due to reliability issues. After interruptions on Thursday, it was more of the same as Lando Norris had to end his running after just 20 laps in the morning. A clutch problem needed investigating and the decision was made to switch to Piastri once the car could be repaired. The Australian rookie did manage 91 laps after lunch to finish on a higher note.

Leclerc says Ferrari ready for fine-tuning; Perez sees gap closing

Charles Leclerc says Ferrari will start fine-tuning its car on the final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain after the team set the pace on day two. Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz went below the 1m30s mark on Thursday afternoon to lead Red Bull’s …

Charles Leclerc says Ferrari will start fine-tuning its car on the final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain after the team set the pace on day two.

Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz went below the 1m30s mark on Thursday afternoon to lead Red Bull’s Sergio Perez by three quarters of a second, with Leclerc having also been quickest in the morning session. The Monegasque says he was able to complete his run plan by staying in the car for an extra spell after an early lunch break, and believes Ferrari is making good progress with its car.

“All the answers [were achieved] because at the end we went through all our program, which is a good thing,” Leclerc said. “We have done big changes on the car and that’s what we were focusing on for these first two days. Tomorrow we will go and fine-tune a little bit more and go into the details.

“The first two days went well; however, let’s be careful because saying that the first two days went well doesn’t mean anything in terms of competitiveness, so we need to wait and see for that. My initial feeling is Red Bull remains the reference and ahead for now.”

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Despite conforming with the general paddock consensus that Red Bull has maintained its advantage, Leclerc also believes the test won’t show the full potential from any team.

“I think the first performance runs we’ll be seeing is in qualifying next week,” he said, “but yeah, every day you are trying to get a little bit more out of the car. Tomorrow is the last day, so hopefully center the car a bit more in terms of setup to where we think it’s the best and we’ll fine-tune it in order to be ready for next week.”

Sergio Perez reckons rivals are over-estimating the performance advantage of his Red Bull RB20 but admits the full picture has yet to come into focus. Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images

From a Red Bull perspective, Perez insists the gaps are smaller than rivals are claiming, but believes a clearer picture will emerge on the final day of running.

“I don’t really think that we’ve had much of a look in that regard,” Perez said. “I believe that things are a lot closer than we are thinking, definitely, but at the moment we’re basically focusing on our job, we’ve been so busy with our program. Tomorrow there will be a bit more of an idea, but I think we will find out next Sunday.”

Leclerc sure Ferrari can build on 2023 progress

Charles Leclerc says Ferrari has been building momentum since last year’s Dutch Grand Prix and the gains in the last six months have created a buzz within the team. Ferrari was struggling for consistency in 2023 but after the summer break it found …

Charles Leclerc says Ferrari has been building momentum since last year’s Dutch Grand Prix and the gains in the last six months have created a buzz within the team.

Ferrari was struggling for consistency in 2023 but after the summer break it found improvements, with the team securing five pole positions from nine races after leaving Zandvoort. There was a solitary victory in Singapore in that time as well as Leclerc finishing in the top three of each of the last five races he started — being disqualified from third at Circuit of The Americas and failing to start in Brazil — and he says the energy around Ferrari has been more positive since the end of August.

“Since we started that second part of the season, there was really big motivation from the whole team,” he said. “I remember very clearly the moment we carried out our particular test in Zandvoort in free practice, and we all sat down and we had very clear results in front of our eyes.

“I think that gave a huge motivation to the team because we were like, ‘OK, now we understand what are the weak points of the car, where we need to work, which direction we need to take,’ and from that point onwards everyone has been fully onboard with the directions taken and everything makes sense.

“After three or four races we brought the new floor to Japan and straight away it was a step forward in terms of sensitivities with the wind, but also the front [of the car]. I speak very often about wanting a strong front and that was a step forward as well, and I really hope this [2024] car can follow up the momentum that we’ve had since the second part of last year.

“I don’t think it’s a new optimism right now — I think it already started six months ago — but it’s a good thing to see and it’s exciting for the future.”

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Leclerc was also set for a podium in Bahrain 12 months ago before a reliability issue forced him to retire, and with Ferrari picking up just one top-three finish in the next seven grands prix he says it shows how too much emphasis can be put on the opening round.

“Looking back at the previous years, you always need to wait two or three races to feel how strong of a package you have on different tracks. Sometimes you can have a very strong package on one track and you get to another track and you are struggling much more.

“We will always have to wait two or three races to see our car in different conditions — different wind, different temperature, different track layout — before actually drawing conclusions of what can be achieved that season. But of course we will have a good picture of where we are at after the first race.”

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc signs contract extension

The Monegasque driver will be linked to the Prancing Horse for “several more years” according to reports.

Scuderia Ferrari have locked up their star driver.

Monegasque driver [autotag]Charles Leclerc[/autotag] revealed on Thursday that he signed a contract extension with Scuderia Ferrari. While the exact duration of that contract is unknown, Leclerc specifically mentioned that he was linking himself to the team for “several more seasons.”

Leclerc first linked with Ferrari in 2016, when he joined up with the Ferrari Driver’s Academy. He served as a test driver for both Haas and Sauber before signing on with the latter in 2018. He impressed in that one stint, outqualifying his teammate Marcus Ericsson 17 times in 21 races. He would later move to Ferrari the following year, and it’s where he’s been ever since.

Leclerc has had a successful, if not tumultuous, experience racing for Ferrari. He’s scored 1,035 points for the team and has won five races, and he’s notorious for his qualifying prowess — he’s put his car on pole 23 times throughout his career.

However, his tenure has come with some downs alongside the ups, as he’s suffered from a combination of Ferrari incompetence and occasionally from his own in certain high-pressure situations. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has won more races from Charles Leclerc pole positions than Charles Leclerc has, and be it his doing or his team’s doing, speculations about his future have persisted in recent years.

Nonetheless, Leclerc is sticking with Ferrari. He’s set to race alongside teammate Carlos Sainz once again in 2024, whose own contract situation and up-and-down performance will make for another decision from both sides looming in the coming months.

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Leclerc extends Ferrari contract beyond 2024

Charles Leclerc will remain with Ferrari beyond the end of this season after signing a contract extension. The Monegasque driver’s previous deal had just entered its final year, but he has committed his future to Ferrari having come through the …

Charles Leclerc will remain with Ferrari beyond the end of this season after signing a contract extension.

The Monegasque driver’s previous deal had just entered its final year, but he has committed his future to Ferrari having come through the Ferrari Driver Academy and made his debut for the team in 2019 after just one season in Formula 1 with Sauber. No length was given by either side when it comes to the extension, but Leclerc suggests it’s a multi-year deal.

“I’m very pleased to know that I will be wearing the Scuderia Ferrari race suit for several more seasons to come,” Leclerc said. “To race for this team has been my dream since I was three years old: I used to watch the Monaco Grand Prix from the window of a friend’s apartment at Ste Devote corner and I would always look out for the red cars.

“This team is my second family ever since I joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2016 and we have achieved a lot together, fighting through thick and thin over the past five years. However, I believe the best is yet to come and I can’t wait for this season to start, to make further progress and be competitive at every race.

“My dream remains that of winning the world championship with Ferrari and I’m sure that in the years ahead, we will enjoy great times together and make our fans happy.”

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Leclerc has won five races for Ferrari and taken pole position on 23 occasions, and team principal Fred Vasseur says there is a desire to provide the 26-year-old with better machinery to add to his victory tally.

“Charles’ bond to the Scuderia goes beyond that of just a driver and a team, as he has been part of the Ferrari family for eight years now, dating back to a time before he first sported the Prancing Horse emblem on his race suit,” Vasseur said. “His values and those of our team are intertwined and so it was natural for us to be in agreement on extending our collaboration.

“We know him for his incessant desire to push himself to the limit and we appreciate his extraordinary abilities when it comes to fighting and overtaking in a race. We are determined to give Charles a winning car and I know that his determination and commitment are elements that can make the difference in helping us reach our goals.”

Leclerc’s deal means there are now six drivers with contracts beyond the end of this season as he joins Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Vasseur expects driver decision soon despite missing targets

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur admits he has missed targets when it comes to finalizing the Formula 1 futures of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz but expects to do so soon. Both Leclerc and Sainz are out of contract at the end of next season, …

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur admits he has missed targets when it comes to finalizing the Formula 1 futures of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz but expects to do so soon.

Both Leclerc and Sainz are out of contract at the end of next season, as two of the biggest names among 75% of the grid that have deals expiring in a year’s time. Vasseur had wanted to make a decision on the Ferrari drivers’ respective futures by the end of 2023 but he says there is no cause for concern that the timeline has been pushed back beyond the New Year.

“As you know, they are under contract with us until the end of 2024 — it means that we still have 13 months in front of us,” Vasseur said. “It’s quite comfortable and if you have a look, Mercedes renewed the contract by the end of August and that meant that we still have a lot of weeks and months in front of us.

“But I told you, I think one year ago, that we will try to take a decision by the end of the year. I have to admit the last part of the season was a big chaos for everybody and I think it was very demanding and we had meetings and started the discussion, but we are late compared to the initial plan.

“It’s not an issue at all — we are much in advance compared to Mercedes and we are easy on this that we will take the decision soon.”

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Given a run of five races in six weeks that ended the season, Vasseur says the intense nature of the calendar played a part in driver performances over the course of the year. Expecting similar in 2024, the Frenchman explains he is wary of asking too much of Leclerc and Sainz during the off-season when they need to recharge.

“They had a lot of involvement into the development of the car from the beginning. And they are quite pleased with the situation,” Vasseur said. “Now it’s not at all a clear indication of what we will do next year but it’s important to have them on board from the beginning.

“I think they were both quite exhausted after the season; it was a long one for everybody but it’s also a long one for them. After Abu Dhabi they had the test and then we had a demo in Saudi, so it was a never-ending story. They came back the week after and they were in the simulator. They will have a break for the next two or three weeks and be back on the 9th or 10th of January.

“It’s good also for them to manage their time and it will be even worse or more difficult next year. With more races — starting a bit earlier, finishing a bit later — I think during the season every single driver was a bit up and down. We have to anticipate this and to do a good job on this because I think it will be part of the performance, and I think they completely deserve the Christmas break.”