Charles Leclerc was taken aback by Max Verstappen’s unexpected pole position at Imola.
Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were split on the reasons behind Red Bull’s surprise pace jump in Emilia Romagna Grand Prix qualifying after Max Verstappen claimed pole position at Imola.
On Saturday, Verstappen secured his sixth pole position of the F1 2024 season, setting a lap time that was over two tenths quicker than Leclerc and five tenths faster than Sainz. As a result, Leclerc will start in second place, while Sainz will begin in fourth. This reshuffling occurred after Oscar Piastri received a three-place grid penalty for impeding.
Ferrari drivers disagree over Red Bull’s Imola qualifying surge
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
Verstappen had a rough start to the weekend at Imola, with a less than impressive performance in the practice sessions. Despite being classified no higher than fifth, he managed to secure the latest pole, surpassing the reigning World Champion. Leclerc, on the other hand, dominated both FP1 and FP2, while Verstappen faced numerous off-track challenges throughout the weekend.
Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s teammate, also faced difficulties in controlling the RB20 car. The Mexican driver could only secure 11th place on the grid due to a crash during the final practice session on Saturday morning.
Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher after the session, Sainz claimed it was dangerous to look too deeply into the practice results given Red Bull‘s habit of running lower engine settings on Fridays.
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He confessed to feeling “perplexed” by his own decline in speed in Imola’s initial section, as the Spaniard faced difficulties while using the soft tires.
Asked to explain why Ferrari appeared to drop back after a strong Friday, Sainz said: “No one runs the fuel or engine [optimally], especially Red Bull who tend to run the engine really turned down on Fridays.
McLaren and Max have been consistently strong, particularly today after analyzing the soft laps and reviewing the GPS data, especially since FP3.
I am only puzzled by the fact that we are experiencing a decrease of four tenths in one specific sector, namely Sector 1.
“I have faced difficulties every time I have used the soft tyre this weekend.”
“I perform exceptionally well on medium, hard, and used tires. However, when I switch to new soft tires, I struggle to improve my lap times, which is quite perplexing to me.”
“I acknowledge the need for improvement, especially considering the significant gap in Sector 1.”
Leclerc and Sainz both agreed that Ferrari is encountering difficulties in Sector 1 at Imola. Leclerc conceded that Red Bull’s unexpected comeback has caught the team off guard.
However, the Monegasque proposed a different perspective, suggesting that Red Bull deliberately used a significant amount of fuel during Friday’s sessions to obscure the genuine speed of the RB20.
In an interview with Sky F1, he expressed his disappointment as the weekend had been going well until that point. However, he acknowledged the challenge of accurately interpreting FP1 and FP2 sessions.
“Each individual has varying fuel loads, and it seems that they were carrying more fuel than anticipated today, resulting in a surprisingly improved performance.”
“We executed everything well, yet the car simply lacked sufficient performance.”
“We must investigate further as we are experiencing significant losses, particularly in Turns 2 and 3, which remain confined to a specific area.”
“We need to concentrate on the initial corners of the last two or three races as that’s where the issue lies, and figure out the root cause.”
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