Charles Leclerc: ‘Cannot tolerate’ revised qualifying regulations following error that affected his performance on the straight
Charles Leclerc expressed his dissatisfaction with the new regulations in Formula 1 after a qualifying error at the Japanese Grand Prix disrupted his power unit’s energy deployment, resulting in significant consequences.
The Ferrari racer secured fourth place at Suzuka, trailing Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes by over 0.6 seconds for pole position, yet he was the quickest driver in the first sector during Q3.
A slide at the exit of Spoon corner seemed to hinder his performance, but he noted that the subsequent loss in energy deployment on the following straight was the most detrimental factor.
“I honestly cannot stand these rules in qualifying,” Leclerc stated over team radio as he returned to the pits after his run. “It’s a f—— joke.”
“I go faster in corners, I go on throttle earlier, for f—- sake, I lose everything in the straight.”
When comparing Leclerc’s fastest lap in Q2 to his best in Q3, a noticeable decrease in energy deployment on the straight following the slide resulted in a loss of 0.148 seconds.
This season’s new regulations require that nearly half of the maximum power output from the power unit is derived from its battery, which can leave cars underpowered when electrical energy is exhausted or if the deployment strategy is disrupted by an unexpected lift off the throttle.
Several drivers, including Leclerc at the Chinese Grand Prix, have indicated that minor mistakes necessitating a slight lift on the throttle can significantly affect power deployment later in the lap.
Leclerc mentioned that the slide at Spoon corner did not initially concern him, but he acknowledged his frustration regarding the subsequent loss of deployment on the full-throttle stretch to the final chicane.
“It stayed pretty calm [during the slide], I would say that when on the straights and you start losing time being flat out is where my heart rate goes particularly high,” he remarked.
“But in the corner itself, I mean, these are the kind of things that happen in Q3 and especially with my driving style I know it occurs quite often.
“In the past, it paid off more than it hurt you, but with these cars, it seems to penalize you more than it rewards you just because then I lost a significant amount of speed on the straight — not a huge amount, nothing close to what I experienced in Shanghai, but still, I’ve lost some time compared to my Q2 lap which is very frustrating but this is something we’ll analyze and seek to understand.”
– Japanese Grand Prix: Max Verstappen ‘beyond frustrated’ after Q2 exit
– Kimi Antonelli beats teammate Russell to pole in Suzuka
Leclerc stated that the new regulations no longer incentivize taking risks, instead prioritizing consistency from lap to lap.
“Honestly, I think the issue is in Q3 that’s where you want to get out on the track and attempt things you’ve never tried before, taking risks that you’ve never taken before and that’s been rewarding for most of us throughout our careers and now this is not feasible anymore,” he explained.
“Every time you go slightly over the limit, any time you experience a bit of a snap this is costing energy on the power unit side and then you pay the price more.
“I feel like at the moment consistency is yielding better results than being daring and trying something that you’ve never attempted before, which is unfortunate and makes qualifying a bit less challenging.
“This is something we need to address but it’s a recognized issue, it’s not that the FIA or the teams are simply accepting the situation as it is there’s a lot of effort behind the scenes and I hope that we can find a resolution as soon as possible.”
Source: espn.com
