Zhou Guanyu astoundingly secured the fifth position in the qualifiers for Alfa Romeo at the Hungaroring, just ahead of his team-mate Valtteri Bottas and Leclerc of Ferrari.
The co-driver from Ferrari, Carlos Sainz, didn’t make it to Q3 and ended Q2 in 11th position, narrowly missing the cut by a mere 0.002s.
In response to concerns about his team’s pace, given his satisfactory lap, Leclerc stated, “The pace of other drivers is unpredictable from qualifying to race, and from one circuit to another. Each weekend brings new surprises. I certainly didn’t anticipate an Alfa Romeo ahead of me in tomorrow’s race, so their performance remains an uncertainty.”
Concerning Alfa’s recent improved performance, he commented, “They were quite formidable. Yesterday, the team shared a simulation of what they believed Alfa would be like, and it seemed feasible at that moment. I suspected an error in the simulation, but today’s results proved me wrong. It’s hard to comprehend because, to the best of my knowledge, they haven’t brought any substantial upgrades this weekend. However, in F1, things can change dramatically from one weekend to another.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23
Photo by: Michael Potts / F1 Flow Images
Sainz pointed out that his troubles in Q2 were related to an unusual response from the medium tyre.
“The medium compound felt off to me all weekend,” Sainz admitted. “It gave us a hard time in sector one. It was even more challenging than the hard tyre. So, I knew Q2 would be demanding. Q1 was fine, but as soon as I used the medium compound in Q2, I started sliding in sector one, and I couldn’t set a decent lap.”
Sainz added, “I think the lap wasn’t terrible, but the grip was lacking significantly. Unfortunately, in the new F1, even a two-thousandths-second difference is costly.”
Regarding the performance of other teams, Sainz observed: “McLaren and Alfa Romeo have shown impressive speed this weekend. It’s unclear whether this is due to the track-specific conditions, car setup, tyre preparation, or other factors. We need to analyse this. But we’ve been struggling with the medium compound throughout the weekend, and overall, we haven’t been in the top four or five, as we should be or as we used to be.”
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Ferrari’s Estimation of Alfa Romeo’s F1 Speed
Where did Zhou Guanyu qualify for Alfa Romeo at the Hungaroring?
Zhou Guanyu qualified an impressive fifth for Alfa Romeo at the Hungaroring, splitting between his team-mate Valtteri Bottas and Leclerc from Ferrari.
What was Charles Leclerc’s reaction to Alfa Romeo’s performance?
Leclerc expressed surprise at Alfa Romeo’s performance, stating he didn’t expect to have an Alfa Romeo ahead of him in the race. He also admitted that he initially thought Ferrari’s simulation of Alfa Romeo’s pace might have been mistaken, but the qualifying results proved him wrong.
What position did Carlos Sainz end in Q2 and why?
Carlos Sainz ended Q2 in 11th place, missing out on making it to Q3 by just 0.002s. He attributed his struggles in Q2 to an unusual feeling he had all weekend with the medium compound tyre, which caused him to slide a lot in sector one and prevented him from setting a decent lap.
How did Sainz describe the medium compound tyre’s performance?
Sainz stated that the medium compound tyre had given him an odd feeling all weekend. He noted that it was more challenging to work with than the hard tyre, causing him to slide significantly in sector one and preventing him from setting a satisfactory lap in Q2.
What did Sainz say about the performance of McLaren and Alfa Romeo?
Sainz observed that McLaren and Alfa Romeo have shown impressive speed during the weekend. He stated that it was unclear whether this was due to track-specific conditions, car setup, tyre preparation, or other factors. He also noted that they needed to analyse this further.
More about Ferrari’s Estimation of Alfa Romeo’s F1 Speed
- Zhou Guanyu’s impressive qualifying
- Leclerc’s views on Ferrari’s simulation
- Sainz’s struggles with medium compound tyre
- Performance of McLaren and Alfa Romeo
8 comments
McLaren n Alfa Romeo giving some serious competition. this season’s turning out to be real interesting!
leclerc’s reaction to Alfa’s performance is all of us rn. no one saw that coming.
so much changes from track to track, weekend to weekend. thats the beauty of F1, unpredictability at its best.
Sainz got a raw deal with that medium compound tyre. Just 0.002s short of Q3. That’s got to sting…
ferrari needs to up their game. getting surprised by alfa like this…smh
Wow, did anyone else expect Alfa Romeo to perform like this??! Zhou Guanyu was a real surprise!!
Medium tyres huh? somethings definitely off there. Sainz sliding in sector one ain’t normal.
2-thousandths of a second!! just shows every little bit counts in F1. Tough luck, Sainz.