Leclerc questions Ferrari strategy after narrow Bahrain defeat

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has said that his team 'lost the rhythm' in Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying after a change in strategy.

His Q2 time would have been enough to beat Max Verstappen's pole position time, but the Monegasque driver could not put a good enough lap together in Q3 to beat the Dutchman.

It means that he will line up alongside the three-time world champion for the season-opening Bahrain GP, with Formula 1 fans hoping that doesn't mean an inevitable conclusion, as it did many times in 2023.

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Carlos Sainz looked to have the pace to challenge Max Verstappen during qualifying in Bahrain" src="https://sportsbase.io/images/gpfans/copy_620x348/9952745d7e55f8000d5e686ca25faf5a92e03bb0.png">

Bahrain race to yield unexpected result?

Part of the reason for Leclerc's poor qualifying-to-race result record in 2023 was down to poor strategy decisions from Ferrari, an issue that was even more prominent during the 2022 season.

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In this first qualifying session of the year, the team decided to send their star man out on a set of used tyres in Q3, before getting a fresh shiny set for a second bite at the cherry.

Leclerc believes that this led to a loss of momentum in the fight against Verstappen.

"I'm disappointed, but it's a good qualifying. We are in a better place than last year," the Monegasque driver said after qualifying.

"Pole was there in the car, I think we lost the rhythm with the used set in Q3.

"I'm confident we did a step forward in race pace, but we have to wait until tomorrow."

Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok took to X to explain to fans that the fight between Red Bull and Ferrari - in qualifying at least - may be a lot closer than it seems, despite Verstappen claiming pole by two tenths of a second.

Very interesting Quali - sadly we didn’t see the best from Leclerc in Q3.

His Q2 time would have been good enough for pole - one hundredth ahead of Max so it’s definitely closer than everyone expected.

— Karun Chandhok (@karunchandhok) March 1, 2024

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