“Q1 and Q2 will be a huge mess I guess” – Bahrain’s Outer Circuit has pleased Charles Leclerc, reminding him of his karting days.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has had an average Friday but is optimistic and confident of his chances on Saturday. This in spite of forecasts suggesting Ferrari would be the slowest of the midfield pack this weekend.
“We were better than expected I have to say, and FP2 also was good until the failure on my side. Hopefully, it will be a good day tomorrow.”
Leclerc is impressed with the layout of the track, which is expected for all lap time records this weekend. Unsurprisingly, it reminds him of his racing kart days.
“So it will be tricky for the race especially, but I actually enjoy the track. Very few corners, it reminds me a bit of the karting days too, but it’s nice and it should be a fun race.”
Difficult to overtake on the Outer Circuit?
The mini-track does make overtaking difficult, even with DRS zones in place. The Ferrari driver is counting on the long straight in the track, where he would look to gain track position on the likes of Renault, McLaren, and Racing Point.
“I don’t know because the people that have experienced the race runs in FP2 felt like it was quite difficult to overtake I think. So we’ll have to wait and see but actually, it will be exciting because with this long straight the one behind will have a big advantage.”
Q1 and Q2 will be a huge mess I guess – Leclerc
He highlighted a valid concern, the incredible amount of traffic on Saturday. On average, if all 20 cars are on the track, the average distance between two cars in terms of time would be just 3 seconds.
“Oh this is my worry for tomorrow, especially in Q1 and Q2, and then hopefully I get to Q3. Q1 and Q2 will be a huge mess I guess.”
