Charles Leclerc Finds Joy in Yuki Tsunoda’s Stellar Sprint Race Performance as It Validates Ferrari’s Decision

Charles Leclerc Finds Joy in Yuki Tsunoda’s Stellar Sprint Race Performance as It Validates Ferrari’s Decision

Charles Leclerc is delighted by Ferrari’s decision to sacrifice the Sprint and keep a new set of soft tires for the Grand Prix on Sunday. The Monegasque expressed his delight after seeing Yuki Tsunoda‘s pace on the soft tire during the 24-lap Sprint.

At the start of the Sao Paulo Sprint, Tsunoda was given a fresh set of softs by AlphaTauri. Throughout the race, he maintained good pace and finished an impressive P6. The performance of the Japanese driver has now validated Ferrari’s decision to reserve a new set of softs.

Following the conclusion of the sprint, Leclerc was quoted on X as saying, “It’s something we need to understand. It’s encouraging to see [Yuki] Tsunoda’s pace on the new softs. We need to understand why we are so quick in qualifying compared to our race pace“.

Nevertheless, starting from the front row gives Leclerc a fantastic opportunity to overtake Verstappen. This is because after starting from P2 in the Sprint race, the Dutchman zoomed past Lando Norris. Leclerc will be hoping to pull a similar maneuver on Verstappen in the main race.

Ferrari have the early edge over Mercedes

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur is happy with the strategy his team have used so far this weekend in Sao Paulo. He said, “Our focus is tomorrow’s race, we have one soft and 2 mediums, all new. Today the soft was good, we had to manage a lot due to engine temperatures. We were good in terms of deg compared to Mercedes. AlphaTauri had a new set, so we’ll see there. The start of course will be crucial tomorrow.”

Vasseur knows that Sunday’s Grand Prix is going to be a race of attrition. Tire management is going to be key, and that is an area that Ferrari really need to work on. However, given the promise that the Italian outfit have shown throughout the weekend, Charles Leclerc would be optimistic.

The Monegasque will hope that he can capitalize on his fantastic qualifying to help Ferrari register a strong points-scoring finish, knowing that Mercedes is not too far ahead of the Prancing Horse. As things stand, the Silver Arrows only have a 24-point lead over the Italian outfit.

Post Edited By: Vidit Dhawan
Charles Leclerc ferrari Mercedes Yuki Tsunoda

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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