It was a strong outing for Charles Leclerc in the Scarlet Ferrari when the drivers took to the track for the sprint session in Sao Paulo. Having qualified P7 for the sprint, Leclerc displayed great pace and driving to jump up two spots and finish the 24-lap race in P5. Given the same, the Monegasque driver has set himself and his team a realistic target while paying heed to the performances of Red Bull and McLaren.
Charles Leclerc take a bow. This was such a slay move 🔥
pic.twitter.com/mRLtmFTxS8— Sweta (@lecfosihonor) November 4, 2023
Having enjoyed great outings in Austin and Mexico City, it was a disaster class for the Mercedes cars, as they had almost no pace when driving on the fast straights. Charles Leclerc and Yuki Tsunoda easily passed Lewis Hamilton, with the Monegasque having no trouble fending off any signs of a challenge from the Japanese for P5. Assessing the same, Leclerc claims his sole goal for the feature race in Sao Paulo will be to outperform Mercedes, as quoted in a report by Sky Sports Italy.
“Having saved the red tire is good, it makes me optimistic for tomorrow. I’m not saying that we will win, the target of the weekend is to beat the Mercedes. Today with new tires we might have gained a position, but I don’t think more.”
With his sights set on ousting Mercedes, Leclerc is well aware of Ferrari not being on equal terms with Red Bull or McLaren in terms of performance. Hence, the 26-year-old claimed his team will have to bring in a new package before they can compete with McLaren. As Leclerc gears up to unsettle Mercedes in P2 in the constructor’s championship, Hamilton’s latest words will instill even more confidence within the Ferrari driver.
With Charles Leclerc gunning for Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton snubs all hopes for the Sliver Arrows
Starting the sprint session off on a strong foot, things soon went downhill for Lewis Hamilton. Having overtaken Sergio Perez in the early stages, the W14 soon lost its bearings and suffered a major drop in pace, allowing Perez to retake P3. Furthermore, both Leclerc and Tsunoda were easily able to overtake the seven-time world champion because there was no pace in the car on the fast straights.
#BrazilGP 🇧🇷 | Lewis Hamilton post-sprint: “It’s gonna be a long afternoon tomorrow, that’s for sure. I can only assume I got the set-up wrong and… it is what it is.”
“I’ll fight as hard as I can but, we won’t be winning, thats for sure.” pic.twitter.com/cpCGdXrLMj
— deni (@fiagirly) November 4, 2023
Much of the poor performance came from the botched car setup, which saw a quick tire degradation, sending the car slipping and oversteering on nearly every turn. The rear wing was weak as can be, adding to the woes of the Mercedes driver, giving way to him snubbing all chances of a decent outing for the Mercedes cars on Sunday.
Speaking about the feature race, Hamilton said it will be a “long afternoon.” He added he will fight as hard as he can throughout the race, “But we won’t be winning. That’s for sure.” Admitting the car setup was at fault, Hamilton has presented the team’s mechanics with a tough challenge. With only hours at their disposal, the mechanics at Mercedes face one of the toughest tasks of the season to try and fix the setup of the car while not breaching any regulations.
