Charles Leclerc’s new approach has propelled him forward
Second consecutive Q2 for Charles Leclerc, who ranks 14th in Barcelona. He believes that his new approach to car settings since Baku allows him to unlock his car's potential.
It’s a beaming Charles Leclerc who welcomed us in the Sauber motorhome after finishing 14th in the qualifiers. It’s his second-best performance of his career in F1, after Baku: « We’ve seen a huge improvement since Baku. We have much better performance than in the first three races. Two Q2s in a row, that’s great. »
This gives a lot of hope for the rest of the season: « Barcelona is a track that is very representative for the rest of the season. It feels good and it boosts everyone. » He nevertheless expected to suffer a lot on a circuit that didn’t necessarily match the primary characteristics of his mount.
Before the weekend in Baku, the Sauber rookie decided to change his setup approach, focusing more on comfort than on pure performance since the walls were close, allowing much less room for error. But by focusing on comfort, he found a level of performance that clearly makes the difference today. When discussing the matter with his teammate, the experienced Marcus Ericsson, he admits that he might need to take inspiration from what’s being done on the other side of the Sauber garage.
But as a driver with a big appetite, the Monegasque is very demanding of himself and does not hide his mistakes. Thus, he admitted that he was not in the right configuration for his last lap: « Strangely, I did a great first sector even though I wasn’t in the right engine configuration. In fact, I had a very confusing preparation lap because I had Max Verstappen and a Force India going very slowly to give themselves space, and I had cars coming up behind. So I had a lot to manage and forgot to change the engine setting to qualifying mode. » Then a small mistake in turn 4 forced him to cut his effort short and settle for his previous time.
He remains realistic about his chances of scoring points again. However, the fact that the track will likely be completely washed by the rain sweeping over it during the night might reshuffle the deck for the race.
From our special correspondent in Barcelona
