P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Leclerc: No answer for "once in a season" Japan F1 qualifying struggle
Despite his reputation for fast single-lap performances, Charles Leclerc struggled in qualifying and could only manage the eighth fastest time, over half a second behind pole-sitter Max Verstappen. His teammate Carlos Sainz performed better, finishing fourth. Leclerc expressed confusion over his underwhelming performance, suggesting it was an anomaly that occurs only occasionally in a season, as the car itself felt fundamentally solid. He mentioned that although the car’s balance felt fine, there was a significant gap in performance compared to his perceived efforts. Leclerc experimented with various strategies during the session to improve tire temperature but none of them yielded positive results. He remains hopeful for improved race pace, admitting that qualifying poorly on a track like this could be detrimental. Despite finishing seventh before being demoted to eighth, Leclerc doubts that a different qualifying approach would have significantly altered the outcome given the lack of improvement throughout the session.
