Charles Leclerc had a disappointing qualifying session on Saturday at the Hungarian Grand Prix as he only managed to set the sixth-fastest time. And with Ferrari struggling during qualifying, the Monegasque also vented out his frustrations on the team radio. After doing so, he explained the same in his post-qualifying interview.
Most of Ferrari’s struggles in Hungary were a result of their failure to adapt to the new qualifying format. Since the teams had to use a different set of tires for each session of qualifying, all the sides needed to ensure that they had a good car across all compounds.
Charles : “Restons calmes mais come on. Je ne sais pas si tu as vu ça mais c’est à la limite.”
Charles fait sans doute référence à Carlos#F1 #Charles16 #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 pic.twitter.com/xWImQcZ2IE
— Charles Leclerc 16 Fan page 🇲🇨 (@Cl16__FanpageFr) July 22, 2023
And when it came to Ferrari, it seemed that Leclerc just did not have the pace on the hard tire. As a result of the same, there was a brief moment in time when the 25-year-old vented out his frustrations on the team radio. He said, “Let’s stay calm, but come on!”
Charles Leclerc disappointed with Ferrari’s pace during qualifying
Even though Charles Leclerc out-qualified his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz, who only managed 11th fastest during qualifying, he did not seem too pleased with the team’s performance. When asked to explain his angry radio message, he replied, “Nothing special. I will speak with the team with that. It was not a big thing“.
He made this comment after having expressed his frustrations with Ferrari’s poor pace during qualifying. When asked about the same, he said, “Not great. We were not fast enough today“.
He then also went on to explain that even in Q3, they just did not seem to have the pace to fight with the likes of Mercedes, Red Bull, and McLaren. “Q3 I honestly did a very good lap and it was not enough, unfortunately. So we need to work,” explained the 25-year-old.
After expressing his frustrations with his qualifying performance, he did seem optimistic though when it came to Ferrari’s race pace. Leclerc explained how they as a team are stronger when it comes to the long runs, and how they can use a good strategy to maximize their result during the main race.
Leclerc reveals his surprise with Alfa Romeo’s pace during qualifying
While Ferrari had a disastrous qualifying performance, the same cannot be said for one of its customer teams, Alfa Romeo. Charles Leclerc’s former side showcased their outstanding pace during qualifying, with Zhou Guanyu registering the fifth-fastest time, while Valtteri Bottas registered the seventh-fastest time.
Not a lot in it today with a super tight field 🇭🇺 @Charles_Leclerc debriefs his Quali in Hungary #HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/uIHyFWzxDG
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) July 22, 2023
After looking at Alfa Romeo’s pace, Leclerc revealed in an interview (as quoted by motorsport.com) that Ferrari had warned him about the same, and that it was him that did not take it too seriously. However, with him just managing to split the two Alfa Romeo’s, he admitted that he was surprised and that Ferrari’s simulations were correct.
And after now looking at the Alfa Romeo’s gain so much pace, Leclerc expressed his worry about Ferrari’s current situation. He once again explained how the team has a lot of work to do if they are to fight for a good points-scoring finish in the races ahead. And with the frustrations growing inside Ferrari, it will be interesting to see if they are able to recover some of the lost ground in the main race or not.
