Charles Leclerc admitted Ferrari “came back to reality” when Lando Norris took pole for Sprint at the Qatar Grand Prix to boost McLaren’s hopes of retaining their constructors’ championship lead.
Ferrari’s recent strong form has seen them close to 24 points adrift of McLaren at the top of the standings with two rounds remaining, but predictions that the Lusail International Circuit would match the leaders came true on Friday.
It looked like a surprise was in store when Leclerc led first practice, but Norris won the sprint position ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, while Oscar Piastre’s second McLaren finished third ahead of the Monegasque and his team-mate Carlos Sainz.
“We gave it our all and are only P4 and P5, which is not great considering how important this weekend is,” said Leclerc.
“Let’s say, for whatever reason, FP1 was way above our expectations, this, I would say, is in line with our expectations, we’re coming back to reality.
“Obviously there were hopes after FP1 that we could have done better, but we didn’t.”
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Charles Leclerc felt “back to reality” after a positive P1 and Carlos Sainz says Ferrari didn’t maximize their package in Sprint qualifying.
After a couple of disappointing results in Brazil and Las Vegas, which saw Norris end his drivers’ title hopes with Max Verstappen, the Brit admitted he was happy to be back in Qatar.
“We wanted to come back after Vegas and do something like that and that’s what we did, so we’re happy,” Norris said.
“We knew this track would suit us a lot. Looking at last year, it was one of our strongest circuits, so we expected to come here and be fast. It was probably a little closer than I would have liked.
“I felt confident, especially in qualifying. We were fast, but we were still quite a step ahead of Ferrari. We made some improvements in qualifying, but I think the car really took a step forward, and I was able to get out. Much more, of course, I’m happy with today’s work, but the real work is tomorrow.”
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After claiming Qatar GP Sprint pole, Lando Norris says that while he is happy with the result, “the real work is tomorrow”.
Although Saturday’s Sprint, live on Sky Sports F1 at 2pm, does not offer as many points as Sunday’s full race, Norris knows that every point can be crucial in the title race.
“I expect everyone to be challenged tomorrow. I certainly don’t expect an easy race,” he added.
“I think the long-term product can easily suit Mercedes more than us, but I still hope we can have a good race. And we want to score maximum points even from a constructive point of view. even though the points are minimal and one position is a point, we still want to go out and get every point we can.”
Verstappen. The sprint is going to be tough
Newly-crowned world champion Verstappen could only finish sixth and admitted he had little hope of “turning Red Bull’s form on its head” over the weekend.
“There’s just no pace to be honest, just slow,” Verstappen said.
“I don’t really have the balance to attack the corner. So it makes it really difficult here. Everything else is not right and it makes it hard to push.
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Max Verstappen felt his Red Bull had “no pace” and Sergio Perez felt it would be difficult for him to challenge the field after starting 15th.
“I think P6 is pretty much where we should be, maybe even P7 actually. But it’s certainly not where you want to be.
“In the sprint it will be difficult to fight against the cars around me with just the balance I have in the car.
“For the next qualifier, let’s see if we can improve the situation a little bit, but I don’t expect it to suddenly turn upside down and work. No wonder.”
The Dutchman still managed to outscore team-mate Sergio Perez, whose qualifying woes continued with an exit from SQ1 that left him 16th in the standings.
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Sergio Perez is making his seventh Q1/SQ1 exit after failing to qualify for SQ2 at the Qatar Grand Prix.
The increasingly pressured Mexican said the main reason for his departure was a battle for track position with Leclerc at the start of his final SQ1 flight.
Unfortunately, we left a little late,” Peres said. “We had a problem with one of the anti-roll bars and then going into my last lap we were all opening up gaps and then Charles came and we were fighting in Turn 1 and so on and we lost a couple of tenths there to get knocked out for
“It was a shame because I felt we really progressed with the car from P1 to qualifying, we had a lot more potential and it’s a shame we just ended up here.”
Hamilton: I’m just slow
Lewis Hamilton’s one-lap struggle continued as he finished almost half a second behind Norris in seventh.
Hamilton has been low in qualifying all year, while Russell is 22-6 in both sports.
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After struggling in a sprint at the Qatar Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton admits the problem is not his car and that he is “just slow”.
“It was the same as any other qualifying round,” he said. “I’m just slow. The car felt relatively good. Not much else to say.”
Asked if he was struggling, Hamilton added: “Who knows, I’m definitely not fast.”
Hamilton was unable to match Russell’s performance in qualifying, despite this having previously been his strength during his championship-winning years at Mercedes.
The seven-time world champion believes there is nothing positive “in particular” but Russell should be able to fight for a sprint win and pole again in the main qualifying.
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George Russell said it was “so far so good” after his Mercedes finished second for the Qatar Sprint.
“The long run wasn’t too bad,” he added. “But when you get back to where I am, it’s almost impossible to compete for wins. I’ll do what I can tomorrow.”
Russell continues to impress, albeit at a track where Mercedes are expected to be strong, even ahead of them in Las Vegas by one or two.
The British driver revealed that a high-speed cornering before the final turn in the final stretch “confused the engine” and said he would aim to beat Norris in the Sprint even if his rival’s pole position was out of reach.
“They are in a big championship fight, we have nothing to lose, we are going for great results,” he said.
“We will try to make a good start. The sprint is just a sprint. We have to focus on qualifying as well.”
Sky Sports F1 live Qatar GP schedule
Saturday, November 30
12.10: F1 Academy qualifying round
13:00 Qatar GP Sprint Rally
14:00 Qatar GP SPRINT
15.30: Ted’s sprint notebook
16:00: F2 Sprint race
17.15. Qatar GP qualifying session
18:00 QATAR GP QUALIFYING
20:00: F1 Academy: First race
20.45: Ted’s qualifying notebook
Sunday December 1
10.55: Second F1 Academy race
12.15: F2 feature race
14.30. Grand Prix Sunday. Qatar GP Rally
16:00 Qatar Grand Prix
18:00. Checkered flag. Qatar GP reaction
19:00: Ted’s notebook
Formula 1’s season-ending triple whammy continues this weekend with the Qatar Grand Prix, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream the last two F1 races and more with a NOW Sports Month membership. no contract, cancel anytime
