The Maranello team raised some eyebrows for the final shootout qualifying element at Interlagos when Leclerc was the only driver heading to the circuit on intermediate tyres.
Although the rain was blowing, the track was dry enough for the slicks and that meant Leclerc’s option turned out to be totally wrong as he ended up being the slowest of the 10 riders.
Leclerc was deeply disappointed by the decision and pledged to speak to his bosses on Friday night to discuss how he could do things better in the future.
“We were expecting rain which never came,” said the Monegasque driver.
“I will speak with the team and try to understand what better we can do in these conditions. But I am extremely disappointed. The pace was there.”
Ferrari has since explained that the decision to opt for Inters was made because it felt that the best way to secure a place at the front of the grid, with the weather conditions being on the razor’s edge, was to distribute the strategy between the two cars.
He believed that if the rain had come as quickly as expected, the slick riders might have struggled – and that would have left Leclerc on the intermediates in the perfect spot to grab pole position.
Laurent Mekies: Laurent Mekies: “The very moment your cars come out, depending on the exact moment of the rain, it’s going to be a happy man and an unhappy man.”
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Ferrari race director Laurent Mekies said while the ‘golden rule’ of motor racing was always to go for slicks when the track was dry, the team felt it was worth the effort. worth betting on Q3 due to impending rain.
“It’s a bit frustrating because we put both cars into Q3 and then we were faced with a tough choice,” he said.
“On one side the track is still dry. And there’s a rule of thumb that says you have to go for this track while it’s dry. On the other side we were expecting heavy rain imminent, so at the end of the day we split our cars [strategy].”
Mekies said Ferrari accepted that one of its drivers would be compromised by the choice, but he felt the potential rewards were worth it.
“You always know, the very moment your cars come out that depending on the exact timing of the rain, there will be a happy man and an unhappy man. That’s exactly what happened.
“The rain probably came a minute or two too late for Charles, and it was probably the right time for Carlos who was second on the track. It’s like that: P5 and P10. It’s the start of a long , long weekend.
Mekies admitted Ferrari should learn from what happened at Interlagos, after a season where its strategic decisions were in the spotlight.
“We had lots and lots of good qualifying this year, including in very difficult conditions like today,” he said.
“But in this kind of difficult situation, there is always a lot to learn about the good decisions to be made and the not so good ones.
“It is certainly something that we have taken into account, with good habits, to analyze in detail with teams with pilots and stick together to always look after. We are going to take advantage of today to make a other not together.“
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Sainz, who was on the right tyre, felt he had lost the chance of securing a front row spot because he had pushed too hard on his only attempt in Q3 after failing to get to the front of the line exiting the pits.
“We tried to start the queue first,” said the Spaniard, who finished fifth.
“But we lost a lot of time behind Charles and we lost a lot of time on Kevin [Magnussen]. That meant he probably had a drier track than us at the time.
“I tried to push a lot and probably pushed too hard. I made some big mistakes, like big moments. it probably cost me P2/P3.
He added: “Today we survived very difficult conditions and we have to review some things as a team, but we will try to be better next time.”
The Maranello team raised some eyebrows for the final shootout qualifying element at Interlagos when Leclerc was the only driver heading to the circuit on intermediate tyres.
Although the rain was blowing, the track was dry enough for the slicks and that meant Leclerc’s option turned out to be totally wrong as he ended up being the slowest of the 10 riders.
Leclerc was deeply disappointed by the decision and pledged to speak to his bosses on Friday night to discuss how he could do things better in the future.
“We were expecting rain which never came,” said the Monegasque driver.
“I will speak with the team and try to understand what better we can do in these conditions. But I am extremely disappointed. The pace was there.”
Ferrari has since explained that the decision to opt for Inters was made because it felt that the best way to secure a place at the front of the grid, with the weather conditions being on the razor’s edge, was to distribute the strategy between the two cars.
He believed that if the rain had come as quickly as expected, the slick riders might have struggled – and that would have left Leclerc on the intermediates in the perfect spot to grab pole position.
Laurent Mekies: Laurent Mekies: “The very moment your cars come out, depending on the exact moment of the rain, it’s going to be a happy man and an unhappy man.”
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Ferrari race director Laurent Mekies said while the ‘golden rule’ of motor racing was always to go for slicks when the track was dry, the team felt it was worth the effort. worth betting on Q3 due to impending rain.
“It’s a bit frustrating because we put both cars into Q3 and then we were faced with a tough choice,” he said.
“On one side the track is still dry. And there’s a rule of thumb that says you have to go for this track while it’s dry. On the other side we were expecting heavy rain imminent, so at the end of the day we split our cars [strategy].”
Mekies said Ferrari accepted that one of its drivers would be compromised by the choice, but he felt the potential rewards were worth it.
“You always know, the very moment your cars come out that depending on the exact timing of the rain, there will be a happy man and an unhappy man. That’s exactly what happened.
“The rain probably came a minute or two too late for Charles, and it was probably the right time for Carlos who was second on the track. It’s like that: P5 and P10. It’s the start of a long , long weekend.
Mekies admitted Ferrari should learn from what happened at Interlagos, after a season where its strategic decisions were in the spotlight.
“We had lots and lots of good qualifying this year, including in very difficult conditions like today,” he said.
“But in this kind of difficult situation, there is always a lot to learn about the good decisions to be made and the not so good ones.
“It is certainly something that we have taken into account, with good habits, to analyze in detail with teams with pilots and stick together to always look after. We are going to take advantage of today to make a other not together.“
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Sainz, who was on the right tyre, felt he had lost the chance of securing a front row spot because he had pushed too hard on his only attempt in Q3 after failing to get to the front of the line exiting the pits.
“We tried to start the queue first,” said the Spaniard, who finished fifth.
“But we lost a lot of time behind Charles and we lost a lot of time on Kevin [Magnussen]. That meant he probably had a drier track than us at the time.
“I tried to push a lot and probably pushed too hard. I made some big mistakes, like big moments. it probably cost me P2/P3.
He added: “Today we survived very difficult conditions and we have to review some things as a team, but we will try to be better next time.”
