After the difficulties of the Sprint Race of today, the Ferrari tried to change the pace in qualifying Gp d’Austria. Sainz he finished the day in fourth place, so tomorrow he will start from the second row alongside RussellWhile Leclerc he is sixth also due to a last run in which he made several mistakes to try to reach the limit, but exceeded it in certain points and ended his lap in the gravel of the penultimate corner.
As the Monegasque himself had declared after the Sprinton SF-24 a set-up change was made which actually improved the performance on the flying lap a little, and it is hoped that in tomorrow’s race too there will be the conditions to do better and therefore be able to stay ahead of the Mercedeswhich would mean competing for the podium given the difficulties he also had Plates e Perezfar from the top.
Who is always number one is Max Verstappenat the pole position number 40 of his career. The three-time world champion has drawn a blank, but tomorrow he will have to deal with again Norris e Russellthose who gave him a hard time at the start just six days ago in Barcelona. But also watch out for the return of Sainz and the third row composed of Hamilton e Leclercfor what we think could be a beautiful first part of the race at least.
Ferrari, Sainz gets the best in qualifying
The Ferrari the best of this Austrian Saturday was therefore that of Sainz. A fourth place to be welcomed with positivity, after several very complicated sessions, also considering what we saw in Canada e Spain over the past weekends. The Spaniard immediately seemed to be on the ball, thanks to some changes in his setup which were evidently well absorbed by him SF-24.
The single-seater, however, still pays a lot compared to McLaren e Red Bullat least those led by Norris e Verstappenbecause their respective teammates, in short, are certainly not exciting, except for Plates in the Sprint of today. Aside from that, it will be important to get the upper hand Russell e Hamilton leaving tomorrow to be able to give hopes of a podium to the Scuderia Of Maranello.
“I think it was a positive qualification – Sainz said -. We were always in the top five throughout the session, but it wasn’t an easy day, because everything was very tight. My lap in Q3 anyway it was clean. I did my best, and the Mercedes It seems to be a bit‘ faster in the race, while today only by a few thousandths. I really think that tomorrow will be very tight.”
Ferrari, Leclerc dares too much
Leclerc he had said it after the Sprint Race: a major change was needed on his car to make sense of a weekend very difficult up to this moment, so as to be able to at least play with the Mercedes. Indeed the qualifications of Charles they were not negative until the last attempt in Q3when he made several mistakes that then led him to the gravel and then to the final sixth place.
“I think I’ve done too much – Leclerc admitted -. Usually this pays off, but this time it didn’t go that way. After turns 1 and 3, done very well, I was happy, but at turn 4 I blocked and went wide. Then in 6 I kind of went banzai, hoping to stay inside, but I knew it would be difficult in 9 and 10. The first attempt in Q3 on used tires went well, but the team did a good job. I made the mistake, I’m sorry because we come from difficult races, I would have liked a better result, but it meant doing no better than third place.”
Also this weekend Ferrari is forced to limit the damage: Verstappen e Norrisin normal conditions they are currently reachable, while the podium is still within reach, you just need to work better than one Mercedes far from perfect, but starting to get used to the positions that really count. Points are scored on Sunday, and hopefully the problems we had today in the Sprint won’t recur in tomorrow’s race.
Author: Andrea Bovone
Images: Scuderia Ferrari
