After replacing the entire driving unit at Ferrari, Charles Leclerc was not only punished by ten places, but even the end of the field. But since Alpha Tauri also swapped out the drive unit on Yuki Tsunoda’s car, Leclerc had to take the rain-soaked track in qualifying. Because he was faster than Tsunoda there, Leclerc could start the race for the Canadian Grand Prix (from 8pm on the live strip) from 19th on the grid.
“Every little detail can help,” said Leclerc, who is of course planning a big race to catch up. A bigger and useful detail could be a “miracle rear wing” at Ferrari. Italians increasingly use less downforce to increase speed on straights. In particular, the contours of the wing are weakened. This suite is said to have been used for the first time in the secret auditions (movie day) at Monza.
And because Leclerc also did several laps with the soft (red) tires on Saturday, it can be assumed that he will start racing with them as well. Very likely, at first. In order to overtake opponents as quickly as possible and reach the points.
Anyway, one can be excited about Ferrando Alonso’s performance. The 40-year-old Formula 1 superstar has been waiting ten years for a front row seat. Otmar Szafnauer, head of the Alpine team, is also convinced that Alonso wants to go ahead in attack. “We are not afraid of that. Fernando is an excellent driver, he is smart. I don’t think he will come close to us,” Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, said in an interview.