In search of lost grip

Scuderia Ferrari HP’s performance in qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix did not live up to expectations, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz failing to make the cut to Q3, qualifying in eleventh and twelfth places respectively. The biggest handicap for both SF-24s was a lack of grip.

Q1 and Q2. Right from the start of Q1, the times were very close and Charles and Carlos immediately complained of a lack of grip as they found it difficult to get the tyres up to the right operating temperature. They tried to do more than one timed lap on the first set of Softs but it became clear they would have to run another new set of the same compound. With these, they both made it safely through to the next phase with just one timed lap. At the start of Q2, as there was a risk of rain, both SF-24s went out on new Softs but the lap times weren’t good enough to get through to Q3. The team therefore decided to go back to the sets of Softs that had been used for just one run in Q1, which by then were the best tyres available. Both Charles and Carlos did indeed improve on these tyres but their times of 1’12”691 and 1’12”728 respectively, meant they were the first of those to miss out on Q3 by just a few thousandths.

Aiming to move forward. It will obviously be a tough race tomorrow, but overtaking is not impossible here, as indeed was the case last year. Tonight, all possible scenarios will be evaluated to try and rediscover the grip that seemed to be there in Friday free practice and then work on finding the best strategies to allow the drivers to make up as many places as possible. The car and its drivers are capable of better than the result of qualifying would suggest and there is still an opportunity to bring home a good points haul come the end of the 70 lap Grand Prix that gets underway at 14 local (20 CEST).

Charles Leclerc #16

We have to review this qualifying session and FP3, as we simply weren’t at the level we need to be.

Tyre management will play a big role in the race so we have to focus on that and will push to gain positions tomorrow. With mixed weather conditions, there may be some opportunities coming our way and we must be ready to make the most of them.

Carlos Sainz #55

It's been a tough Saturday for us. We had trouble with grip and couldn't get the tyres to work properly. On the last lap in Q2 I tried everything but unfortunately I didn't nail the last corner and that's where I lost my chances of advancing to Q3.

I stay positive for tomorrow and I think we can still bring home some good points. We will give it our best shot.

Fred Vasseur Team Principal Scuderia Ferrari HP

Everyone in the team is rather frustrated at the way today’s qualifying went. Today, since FP3, we were lacking something a little bit everywhere, even if yesterday it seemed we were going pretty well and the pace was there over a long run in both wet and dry conditions.

I think everyone was struggling a bit with tyres, to the point that even Russell’s pole position was obtained on a scrubbed set, but we struggled more than others and we were unable to put everything together to switch on the tyres at the right moment. We will now analyse everything  very carefully but we must keep our spirits up and remember that the points are given out tomorrow.

As for the race, we will have to wait and see what the weather has in store because it’s the big unknown. I remember that last year here we also started from far back and we managed to move up the order.