Leclerc expects difficult race in Qatar

On the back of a better than hoped showing in Qatar, Charles Leclerc is slightly pessimistic as far as Ferrari's chances are concerned, suggesting that overtaking will be at a premium due to the lack of real braking zones.

The Monégasque endured a tough start to the Qatar F1 Sprint, but he managed to up his pace and pick off his future team-mate Lewis Hamilton to claim fifth in the 19-lap race.

The eight-time F1 race winner then elected to make several tweaks to the setup of the car for the main qualifying, which looked to work as expected as he immediately showed better pace compared to the sprint qualifying. Ultimately, he missed two tenths of a second to challenge for a spot on the grid.

The Ferrari driver commented: "The Sprint Race confirmed that qualifying is crucial here. We had one opportunity to pass Lewis (Hamilton), but it was on the limit and one really has to take a risk to overtake on this track, especially as the DRS zone is short.

"P5 was the best we could do in qualifying. I am happy with my lap and there was just nothing more to extract from our car today. The two McLarens are right in front of us, so we will need a good race start and a solid few laps to try and pass one of them and then put pressure on the other.

"I am quite confident that the car will be stronger in the race, at the same time, I expect a difficult race. If we have the opportunity to show our pace in free air, we will do it."

His team-mate Carlos Sainz ended up fourth in sprint qualifying, but he failed to challenge for top places in the main qualifying session The Spaniard ended up only seventh on the grid, but he pins hopes on a better race pace in today's 57-lap race.

"Today has proven again that this track is complicated for us. Milliseconds have separated us from a better result and a slipstream on the last run could have helped, but overall, it is what it is.

"However, I think our race pace is stronger and, even though overtaking here is far from easy, I’m confident we can fight for some solid points tomorrow! The weekend is not over, we need to stay fully focused during the race and be prepared to grab any opportunity."