Leclerc hoping to put Mercedes under pressure in Japan after ‘pushing to the max’ with Qualifying lap

Charles Leclerc is hopeful that, with a “good start”, he and Ferrari can put the Mercedes cars under pressure in Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix, with the Monegasque starting from P4 after “pushing to the max” during Qualifying.

Leclerc caught the eye as he embarked on his decisive run in Q3, before a snap of oversteer appeared to undo his lap and leave him in a final position of fourth. However, the 28-year-old suggested afterwards that this moment actually had the opposite effect.

“It was okay, I wasn’t too stressed!” Leclerc explained following Qualifying. “Also because… I don’t know what the perception was of [that] moment, because I feel like many people were saying I was losing lap time because of that.

“I actually gained a lot of lap time by carrying that amount of speed in that corner, so actually it was a good thing that I had this moment, and I don’t think it sacrificed any of my lap after that. I was just pushing to the max, and it was a pretty good lap overall.

“The only thing that we struggle on our side for now is whenever we push in Q3, the optimisation of the system is struggling a little bit and then we lose time in the straight, so we lost a lot of lap time in the straight in Sectors 2 and 3.

“That is very frustrating because as a driver you cannot do much, but I know the FIA is working actively on this issue and hopefully we can find a solution soon, as in Qualifying it’s very frustrating.”

Leclerc will line up behind the Mercedes pair of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell on race day, as well as McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. However, when asked if he could go after the Silver Arrows on Sunday, the eight-time race winner indicated that a fast launch is likely the key to this.

“I mean, with a good start we can maybe put them under a bit of pressure, but I truly think that at one point they will get away like they’ve done in the past two races – they’ve got too much of a pace advantage,” said Leclerc.

“However, if for some reason we manage to take the fight until the last lap of the race, which is a long shot, then maybe we can hope [for] the win. But as soon as they will have one lap in free air, it will be impossible for us to get back.”

Leclerc’s team mate Lewis Hamilton is set to start from P6, putting him behind the other McLaren of Lando Norris.

Reflecting on his own session, the seven-time World Champion explained: “I think we did a good job with the set-up – the car was feeling pretty decent.

“It’s just we’re obviously lacking a lot of speed in the middle sector and a little bit in the last sector. Part of it is power and deployment, which is quite important here.”

Pushed on whether he can fight the McLarens on race day at Suzuka and potentially chase a podium – having secured his first Grand Prix rostrum as a Ferrari driver last time out in China – Hamilton answered: “I don’t know.

“I think they’ve really taken a step forward or two this weekend, so I think it’s going to be challenging but, if we can get them off the line, maybe we can hold them.”