The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team finished yesterday’s qualifying session for the Canadian Grand Prix with Charles Leclerc advancing into the Q2 session for the fourth consecutive F1 race and the young Monegasque driver will line up an excellent P13 on the grid today.
After a very good showing on Friday in the FP1 and FP2 practice sessions when both Leclerc and his teammate Marcus Ericsson were amongst the top fifteen times in both, the Alfa Romeo-sponsored, Swiss-based team headed into yesterday’s FP3 with the same setup configuration on both cars and focused fully on qualifying preparation as it was clear to the team that Q2 was possible for either car.
The drivers started the qualifying session well, with both putting in a strong performance. However, Ericsson made contact with the wall during the opening Q1 period, damaging the front right of the car and having to abort the session before it ended. That unfortunately left the Swedish driver languishing in the penultimate spot on the grid, P19.
Leclerc managed to get up to speed and follow the track evolution, advancing into the Q2 session to finish up with a spot that will see him lead out the seventh row of the grid when the cars line up for the grand prix today.
The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team is clearly looking forward to today’s race with plenty of confidence following the strong pace its shown since the beginning of the weekend in Montreal which has amply demonstrated that the Ferrari-powered Sauber C37 is in action on a circuit that’s favourable to its characteristics.
Marcus Ericsson
C37 (Chassis 03/Ferrari)
Qualifying: 19th in Q1 (1:14.593 min / hypersoft tyres)
1st practice: 13th / 1:15.386 min (30 laps) / 2nd practice: 15th / 1:14.108 min (41 laps) / 3rd practice: 19th (1:13.925 min / hypersoft tyres / 20 laps)
“After a promising Friday, today was more difficult for me. In FP3 I was not as comfortable with the balance of the car. We did some work in preparation for the qualifying session. Initially I felt better – unfortunately, I was pushing a bit too much and touched the wall, damaging the front right. I couldn’t rejoin the session and it was disappointing for me as the potential was there. At the moment, I am struggling a bit to put everything together in qualifying. Regarding the race, as we showed in the last weekends, we have the pace so we need to remain focused and fight back.”
Charles Leclerc
C37 (Chassis 04/Ferrari)
Qualifying: 13th in Q2 (1:12.945 min / hypersoft tyres)
1st practice: 14th / 1:15.439 min (30 laps) / 2nd practice: 11th / 1:13.884 min (39 laps) / 3rd practice: 16th (1:13.452 min / hypersoft tyres / 19 laps)
“It was a good day overall. We made some good steps from FP3 to qualifying, and I am pleased to have finished in Q2 again. The track was new to me when I arrived in Montreal this weekend. After the last two days, I definitely feel comfortable driving here, and the car also feels good. Starting in P13 tomorrow is a positive, and I look forward to seeing what we will be able to do during the race to get a good result.”
Photos: Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team - 2018 FIA F1 World Championship
