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Red Bull “giving up” qualifying speed to focus on F1 race pace
Charles Leclerc is the only non-Red Bull driver to have taken pole this season so far, with the Monaco topping both Friday and Saturday’s sprint shootout in Azerbaijan.
He was just 0.292s behind pole in the Bahrain opener before retiring with a power unit failure, then 0.155s behind in qualifying in Saudi Arabia before being given a grid penalty.
But Ferrari has only one podium finish in Baku this season, thanks to Leclerc, and its top-ranked driver is an average of 30.85 seconds behind the winner over the first five rounds.
Ferrari driver coach Jock Clear said the gap could be explained by defending constructors’ champion Red Bull opening the door wide in qualifying as a trade-off to maximize race pace.
Asked to explain comparing Ferraris falling over a longer period of time, Clear said: “We have a pretty good idea of what the problem is. It’s quantifying it.
“So, in some ways we’re saying, ‘OK, we’re comparing what happened in qualifying to what happened in the race’. We can see some differences.
“Maybe what we don’t quite agree on is how those differences came about. That’s the process we’re going through at the moment, (it’s) is determining what we can do, or what we can shift in terms of our focus, maybe to get the pace of the game going.” Get back on track.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23
Photography: Andy Horn / motorsport pictures
Clear believes Ferrari may have to emulate Red Bull and sacrifice some lap performance in order to improve race day performances.
He continued: “Do we have to take a hit in qualifying? It’s always a tough pill to swallow because the races are usually played in qualifying.
“So, we can’t take our eyes off qualifying. But for sure, we need to be fully aware of how to get the pace of the race.
“We have to take our hats off to Red Bull and say they’re doing something very, very smart. That car is very, very good at race pace.
“We may also conclude that in doing so they may have given up some qualifying pace.
“That’s why we can compete with them, because they are not the best in qualifying.”
Asked where Red Bull had left Ferrari behind, Clear said: “They’re very, very quick on the straights, especially when DRS is on.
“Again, we’ve got to look at that and see what we can do to get rid of that drag because that’s free lap time.
“The drivers can go from (one turn to the other) as fast as they can without having to use a lot of tricks. That’s obviously an area where they’re very fast.”
Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix by force. Despite being well ahead of second-placed Lewis Hamilton, the Dutchman struggled to keep his car between the lines. As a result, the Red Bull driver received three track limit warnings.
Hamilton’s current deal with Mercedes expires at the end of the season, fueling traditional speculation that the 38-year-old is rejoining the team that helped him win six of his seven world titles , will still withdraw from the series.
It even sparked wild speculation about a possible move to Ferrari, which was quickly refuted by all parties.
Both Hamilton and Wolff have often said they could hammer out a new deal without too much difficulty, and after Sunday’s Spanish GP, Hamilton gave his firmest hint yet that a renewal was imminent.
Asked in his post-race press conference if a new deal was in the works, Hamilton laughed and said: “Well, I haven’t signed anything yet, but I think we’ll meet Toto tomorrow. So hopefully, We can accomplish some things.”
Hamilton’s words were echoed by Wolff when he was asked by Sky Sports F1 when Hamilton’s new deal would be reached.
“I think we just need to find time to sit down and have a cup of coffee. It will take half an hour,” he said.
Hamilton believes his Mercedes contract situation has had no impact on his performances, but admits it will be easier for him and the team to focus on challenging Red Bull in 2024 once the deal is over.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG, second, interview with Nico Rosberg after race
Photography: Mark Sutton/ motorsport pictures
“Well, you can see today: my grades, my performances are not affected by that,” Hamilton explained.
“I think it’s always in the back of your mind, so once that’s done, you can focus more on the future.
“But as I said, I’m trying to work as hard as I can with this team. I see so much power in a team and I think they’re still very hungry.
“Today’s podium was truly special; the excitement of seeing all the people I’ve worked with in such a short time.
“When we go back now, there will be energy in the office. But these people don’t take two seconds to enjoy themselves and be happy.
“Then they’ll go back to the books and try to figure out how we can win the next game. That’s what I love about them.”
While Max Verstappen took the lead from start to finish at the Spanish Grand Prix almost as a matter of course, Sunday was more taxing for Sergio Perez. Christian Horner praised the Mexican for his fourth-place finish and hopes he can take the pressure off a bit now.
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Provisional starting grid Spanish GP | Verstappen lonely at the top
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