Scuderia Ferrari leaves Japan with 20 points, courtesy of a fourth place for Charles Leclerc and a sixth for Carlos Sainz, thereby closing the gap to Mercedes in the fight for second place in the Constructors’ classification. Today, on a track that would always be a stern test for the SF-23, the team managed to get everything out of its package with a tidy, error-free race.
The Championship resumes in a fortnight, with the second Qatar Grand Prix taking place at the Losail track on 8 October.
Carlos Sainz #55
I think today we had a better pace than the result suggests. We had a perfect start, and we were quick straight away. During the first two stints, I managed my tyres well and had a good pace, but we got undercut by Lewis (Hamilton) after the second stop, and that compromised my race. I tried to extend my stint to have better tyres at the end and gave everything to close the gap quickly. Unfortunately, the race was a couple of laps too short for me today, and we had to settle for sixth.
As always, we will analyse the whole weekend when we are back home to see if we could have done something differently, but on the positive side, I think the pace was there today. We will regroup and recharge our batteries before heading off to Qatar.
Charles Leclerc #16
It was a good race, and even though I am not completely happy with a P4, we brought home the best possible result today as McLaren was strong, and we didn’t have the pace to fight them harder. I had a fun battle with George (Russell), who did a great job in managing his tyres, especially the rears, which made it challenging to pass him. When I saw a gap, I took the opportunity to pass him in turn 1, and it worked well.
We improved our understanding of this car, and what we’ve learned will be helpful in the future. Seeing how our competitors progress in the upcoming races will be interesting.
Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal
First, congratulations to Red Bull for winning the Constructors’ title. They have done a great job this season. As for our race, I think we did the most we could have done today, making up another four points on Mercedes.
At a track we knew would be difficult for our car, we always had our situation under control: Charles did well to manage his tyres, while after Carlos was undercut by Lewis (Hamilton), we decided to extend his stint on the Mediums, hoping to get the benefit towards the end. It’s very close between ourselves, Mercedes and McLaren and the order can change depending on the track, as we saw in Singapore.
Obviously, we can’t be happy with a fourth and a sixth place, but having gained some ground on our closest rivals, we will stay focused and prepare to give our best at the upcoming races.
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