Leclerc Cautious Ahead of Belgian GP: Ferrari’s Pole Position Comes with ‘No Magical Solution

Charles Leclerc is skeptical that Ferrari will maintain their lead in the Belgian Grand Prix, stating that the team lacks a "magical solution" and anticipates a "challenging" race ahead.

Charles Leclerc has minimized expectations regarding Ferrari's ability to maintain their lead in the Belgian Grand Prix after taking the pole position from Max Verstappen.

Leclerc crafted an impressive last lap in Q3, narrowly beating Sergio Perez to secure second place behind Verstappen.

Despite Verstappen incurring an engine penalty, Leclerc is set to begin from pole position in Sunday’s race at Spa-Francorchamps.

Leclerc began the race last year at the front, having taken pole position from Verstappen, but was overtaken by Perez right from the beginning.

Leclerc believes that if the weather had been dry, finishing fifth would have been a strong outcome for Ferrari.

During a post-qualification interview at Spa, with Crash.net on-site in the paddock, he expressed his astonishment: "No, I'm very surprised. Honestly, even after completing the lap, it didn't seem like it was deserving of second place. It was a solid lap, a tidy one, and that's crucial in those conditions."

The driver expressed that during the final lap of the third qualifying session (Q3), everyone is aware it's the crucial moment, which can lead to more errors being made. He mentioned that his own lap was smooth, though not outstanding. Consequently, he was pleasantly surprised to secure the second position, as he hadn't anticipated it.

"Today, achieving fifth place as a team would have been a decent outcome, but we actually secured second place and will start in pole position tomorrow. So, that's a positive. However, as I mentioned, we don't possess any miraculous fixes for our race pace, making tomorrow a somewhat challenging day."

Since their victory at the Monaco Grand Prix in May, Ferrari has faced difficulties maintaining their performance.

Ferrari's main issue has been bouncing, and a recent upgrade in Barcelona has exacerbated the problem.

Leclerc mentioned that if the qualifying session had taken place under dry conditions, it probably would have affected Ferrari once more.

“It went well today. However, wet conditions generally make it less problematic,” he mentioned. “We faced more challenges with it yesterday. Still, I don't foresee it being a problem in tomorrow's race.”

"This is definitely a good thing. However, if the qualifying session had been dry, I would have anticipated it being more challenging for us."

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