Friday, Ferrari sent Charles Leclerc into a pole position shootout in Brazil with different tires than everyone else, adding another mistake to a season’s list of mistakes.
Monegasque’s gamble on the weather backfired, and he ended up qualifying 10th for Saturday’s sprint race in Sao Paulo after rain and red flags at Interlagos left him without a lap time from the final phase.
“Am I the only person using inters?” During his first lap out of the pits, Leclerc inquired over the team radio when he realized that everyone else was using soft slick tires rather than the slower damp track option.
He continued, “There is no rain.”
After that, the Ferrari driver had to pit again, but Mercedes driver George Russell fell into the gravel and set off red flags, which brought an end to the session.
He was unable to complete a flying lap as the rain intensified.
Leclerc, who is vying with Sergio Perez of Red Bull for second place in a championship that Max Verstappen has already won, will start with the Mexican on Saturday in a 100-kilometer race that will determine the main grand prix grid for Sunday.
Kevin Magnussen of Haas was the first driver out of the pits in Q3 to earn his first pole position.
Leclerc stated, “I will talk to the team and understand what we can do better in those conditions.”
Errors from all directions and reliability issues have had a significant impact on Ferrari’s season.
From pole position, Leclerc led his home race in Monaco before making a strategy mistake that put him fourth.
Ferrari only had three tires ready for Carlos Sainz during a pit stop at the Dutch Grand Prix.
“Since it has been going on all year, what is going on in Ferrari and who is going to take charge of this situation?” Damon Hill, a pundit and world champion in 1996, stated on Sky TV.
The Briton added, “You can see they have the potential, and Charles is effectively criticizing the team on the radio by saying “nice one guys,” but he has to take some responsibility as well.”
“Maybe they aren’t letting him do that, or maybe he doesn’t have the courage to take responsibility for himself.”
