2023-07-01 09:18:00
Charles Leclerc hopes the special DRS rule for sprint races will help him beat Max Verstappen to victory this Saturday in the 2023 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix short course.
Co-author: Alex Kalinauckas
14m
This Saturday noon, the shootout for the 2023 F1 Austrian GP will take place, which will be used to establish the starting grid for the sprint which will take place in the followingnoon. Given the small differences between Red Bull et Ferrari this Friday during qualifying, it is possible to expect a similar situation during this second session of the weekend.
And if that were the case, Charles Leclerc intends to rely on the early activation of the DRS, allowed in the context of sprints to test this possibility with a view to a potential generalization in 2024, to try to take the advantage over the Dutchman. Indeed, during the sprint, the DRS can be activated in the second lap once morest the third for normal races.
“There’s a new rule that allows DRS to be activated following the first lap during the sprint, if I’m not mistaken, which helps us a bit because with DRS here you can stay in the second a bit more easily”said Leclerc following qualifying second for the GP. “But once more, [les Red Bull] have a lot of pace, so it will be difficult anyway.”
Leclerc and his teammate Carlos Sainz aren’t racing over their chances of beating Verstappen in either race at the Red Bull Ring, however, as both teams have “two very different single-seaters since last year“, according to a Leclerc referring to his victory at the 2022 Austrian GP.
Indeed, Scuderia Ferrari is not sure if it can convert the hopes displayed in the race in Canada into a constant improvement in tire degradation, which has been its main weak point once morest Red Bull.
Charles Leclerc ahead of Alex Albon.
“A short stint in a sprint race is still a long enough stint for the tires we might use”Sainz said of Ferrari’s potential for race pace in Austria. “We’re talking regarding 20 laps, which is more or less the length of a stint in a normal race, so race pace still plays a big part in that.”
“It’s true that last year we managed to put Max under pressure and beat him. But it’s a new season, a new car. “Austria last year was their only, or last weak race, so to speak. Since then they have been amazing in racing. It will be extremely difficult to fight once morest them. But anything can happen, as always in F1.”
Leclerc also explained that the addition by Ferrari “a little more front wing for the last run in Q3” backfired, considering his 0.048 gap with Verstappen at the end of this session. “It was probably a little too much”he added. “But at the end of the day, it’s part of the game.”
“[J’étais] very close to pole position, which is a good sign. But we all know that our weakness is racing. So we are waiting for the race to try to see if we confirm the positive signs we saw in Montreal.”
“The team has done a great job putting in so much effort to make the improvements [de l’aileron avant et du plancher avant] earlier than expected. This allowed us to have a good feeling with the car [lors des qualifications].”
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