Charles Leclerc #16
„I am not so happy about today. Even though Q1 was good and Q2 was very, very good on Medium tyres, in Q3 we lost the rhythm, especially in the last sector and it didn’t work out for us. Unfortunately, we have a three-place grid penalty to take tomorrow so it won’t make much difference that I am starting on Mediums, as I expect people around me at the start to go for Medium or Hard tyres.
We were quite competitive in FP2 even though our long runs were affected by the red flag, so our pace shouldn’t be too bad tomorrow.
It’s going to be a tricky race because here in Abu Dhabi it’s always very warm so tyre management will be a big thing, more than usual. I want to stay sixth in the drivers’ championship so for this last race of the season I’ll do all I can to make up as many places as possible.“
Charles Leclerc will start from 12th place and Sebastian Vettel from 13th in the last race of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix which gets underway tomorrow at 17.10 (14.10 CET) at the Yas Marina circuit.
Q1. Charles and Sebastian both made the cut out of Q1 without too much trouble. They did two runs each on the Softs, with Charles third fastest (1.35.881) and Seb 12th (1.36.655).
Q2. The German’s final qualifying with the team ended in Q2. Seb’s first time was a 1.36.898 on the Mediums, followed by a 1.36.631 on the Softs. Unfortunately, that was not enough and he qualified 13th. Charles did make it to the final part with a great 1.35.932 set on the Medium tyres so he can start on that compound tomorrow.
Q3. In the 12 minutes of Q3, all ten drivers used two sets of new Softs. On his first run, Charles posted a 1.36.248 and then on his second he did a 1.36.065. As the chequered flag was waved, the Monegasque was ninth fastest, but because of the three place grid penalty he was given following the first lap collision at the Sakhir Grand Prix, he will start from 12th on the grid.