Leclerc ‘pretty happy’ with Mexico qualifying but left wanting more

Charles Leclerc delivered a scintillating performance in Saturday’s Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying, yet the Ferrari star admitted to feeling a touch of frustration about narrowly missing out on the top spot.

Despite setting the pace early in the Q3 shootout, Leclerc was narrowly outpaced by McLaren’s Lando Norris, who snatched pole position with a stunning final lap.

While the Monegasque admitted to a twinge of disappointment, his upbeat resolve and focus on Sunday’s race signal a driver ready to fight for victory.

“This qualifying is very, very difficult because there's very little grip, so the car is sliding a lot,” he explained. “In order to put everything together, it's very tricky, but I'm pretty happy with the job we've done.”

What Might Have Been

Norris’ remarkable improvement on his second run – edging Leclerc by just 0.262 seconds – left the Ferrari driver reflecting on what might have been.

“There’s a part of me that is still a little bit disappointed, because when I saw in Q3 that I was P1 with a good lap, I was like ‘okay, maybe then I can believe in being on pole’,” Leclerc admitted.

“But in the end, [Norris] did a great job, and a great lap at the end. He improved massively from the first to the second run in Q3, and I’m happy with how it went.”

Leclerc was particularly taken aback by the scale of the McLaren driver’s leap forward on his second flyer.

“Considering the gaps that were behind, I was like, ‘okay, let’s see how it goes, I will still go flat-out on the second lap and see where we end up’,” he said.

“But I was very surprised, obviously, by the jump Lando did from the first to the second run in Q3. I just don’t think we had the pace today to match that.

“There was a little bit here and there, but I don’t think it would have been enough for pole position anyway.”

Eyes on the Start Line

Looking ahead to Sunday’s day, Leclerc knows that Mexico’s notoriously long run to Turn 1 could play a decisive role.

“There will be a lot of focus on the start,” he said. “The run to Turn 1 is very long, and we’ve got to do the best possible start. I wish I was P3 for the start, because at least you get a little bit of slipstream.

“I probably won’t have any slipstream in front of me, and I’m starting on the dirty side of the track. But I will focus on what I can control and try to do the best from where we start, which hopefully, will be enough to take the lead into Turn 1.”

After a return to form with recent podiums, Leclerc will be determined to keep that momentum going in Mexico City.

If Saturday’s performance is anything to go by, the Ferrari driver looks poised to keep the pressure firmly on his rivals when the lights go out.

Read also: Hamilton fired up for Mexico fight after Ferrari breakthrough

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