Charles Leclerc has begun the United States Grand Prix weekend perfectly by clinching the pole position for Sunday’s main race. Even though he was so strong during Friday’s qualifying session, the Monegasque revealed that he did not know what to expect coming into this weekend. He stated during his most recent press conference that he does not “think anymore” because of how unpredictable the SF-23 has been this year.
Ferrari has had a mixed campaign so far, in 2023 as on some weekends they have been outstanding and on others not so much. Consequently, it’s very difficult to anticipate what kind of performance will the Prancing Horse produce from one weekend to another.
Charles Leclerc reveals he never expected to fight for pole in Austin
While speaking during the post-qualifying press conference (as quoted by fia.com), Charles Leclerc explained how he never thought that he would be in a position to fight for pole position at this weekend’s United States GP. The Monegasque believes that although he felt good in the car, there was yet uncertainty about where he might end up.
When asked about how confident he was coming into the qualifying session, the 26-year-old replied, “I don’t think anymore. I stopped thinking a long time ago, because this year, I cannot quite understand where we are. Yeah, it’s very difficult to anticipate where you’re going to be during the weekend“.
La radio de Charles 😭😭
📻 Xavi : “Donc temps au tour supprimé pour Verstappen.”
📻 Charles : “For fucks sake, for fucks sake, dis-moi le nom avant.”
📻 Xavi : “Temps au tour supprimé pour Verstappen !”
📻 Charles : “Oh Mon Dieu, dis le nom avant, ça m’a fait une crise… pic.twitter.com/GoZZjLRmdp
— CL16__FanpageFr 🇲🇨 (@Cl16__FanpageFr) October 20, 2023
He then added that the car felt good and that it “positively surprised” him to see that he could fight for pole. Leclerc will now hope that he can convert this pole position into a win, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set to start the race in sixth after he had his lap time deleted during qualifying due to track limits.
Can a non-Red Bull driver win the race in Austin?
Red Bull have completely dominated the 2023 season as they have won 16 of the 17 races so far. Max Verstappen has won 14 of them while Sergio Perez has won the other two. Since the Milton Keynes outfit have just lost one race so far, they obviously enter every race weekend as the favorites.
However, with Verstappen starting Sunday’s main race in sixth and Perez starting all the way down in ninth, this weekend is an outstanding opportunity for a non-Red Bull driver to win the race. The last time someone other than Verstappen or Perez won a race was in Singapore last month. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz emerged victorious on that occasion.
