Charles Leclerc issues four-word warning after key discovery made at Japanese GP.

Although Charles Leclerc is aware that he is regarded as a “very fast driver in qualifying,” he feels that this aspect of his game has been giving him trouble.

Though Leclerc’s predicted race pace of the Ferrari was evident as he fought his way to a P4 finish, trailing Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz across the line, he was left confused on Saturday at Suzuka after managing only P8 on the grid.

“I get better quickly,” Charles Leclerc cautions after a qualifying issue is discovered.
Although Leclerc called his pace and one-stop approach at Suzuka “amazing,” his qualifying troubles restricted its influence. As a result, Leclerc identified his out-laps as the area of his game that needed to strengthen to solve this weakness.

Following the Japanese Grand Prix, he said to Sky F1, “I think as a driver you always have to do a step back and look at the weekend as a whole.”

One area where we might have improved is how we are getting the tires ready for the qualifying lap. As I mentioned yesterday, while I was delighted with my run, I was lacking in grip. And the majority of this originates from the lap prior to attempting to place the tires in the proper window.

And after that, we’re stuck in a tight spot for the remainder of the weekend because, once you reach P8, there’s not much more you can do.

“Even if we executed a fantastic plan, excellent tire management, and incredible speed, it is insufficient when beginning P8.

“I’ve rarely had to concentrate on qualifying pace in my career because it’s often one of my strong points, but I’ve been having trouble here and in Australia, so I’ll pay attention to that. However, when I work on something, I usually improve really rapidly, so I’m optimistic that I will do so soon.

“I believe that people have always said that I drove really quickly in qualifying but not so much in the actual race.

“I don’t think I’m doing anything really new this year; it’s simply that our car is lot nicer on its tires and performs much better in races.

“We’ve been working on that, and we believe we understand the direction the car needs to move in to give us an easier time in the race. I believe that we are making progress this year.

I don’t believe this is connected to my difficulties in the last two qualifying rounds, though, as it shouldn’t negatively impact our performance in qualifying. I believe that is more a result of me and the way the temperature is being built up in the tires on the outslap. I will investigate and attempt to figure out how I can improve.