Charles Leclerc was frustrated with his team in Las Vegas on Saturday (Image: Getty)
went on a sweary rant to his race engineer after qualifying at the . The Monegasque driver was in the fight for pole position but had to settle for fourth on the grid.
The star came close to winning the inaugural running of this event in 2023 and are extremely confident about their long-run pace for Sunday’s race. However, Leclerc will need to pass his team-mate, Alpine’s and polesitter if he is to claim a fourth Grand Prix victory of the season.
After punching in his final lap, a furious Leclerc ranted on the radio: “S***, s***, s***. For f***’s sake. The tyres felt completely different. I don’t know why. So much understeer.”
While Leclerc failed to hide his frustration after the chequered flag on Saturday, the 27-year-old still has a chance to win, and with Sainz starting on the front row, have an opportunity to claw back ground on in their battle for the Constructors’ Championship title.
“Very tricky,” Sainz said, dressing down his impressive performance. “That was a tough, tight quali. A bit closer to pole than I was expecting. Actually, I thought I had pole, but then George came very, very quick at the end, but very happy.
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Ferrari have Carlos Sainz on the front row of the grid (Image: Getty)
“We are starting in a good position for tomorrow. P2 last year but 12th on the grid because of the famous drain cover. This year I start P2 so hopefully we can make a better one.
“We need to stay confident that tomorrow we can be fighting at the front even more than today. So if today we were close in quali tomorrow we might have a chance at going for the win and that will be the target.”
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trail by 36 points with three races remaining of the 2024 season and with concerns lingering over the Prancing Horse’s performance in Qatar next weekend, it is imperative that they make up ground in Las Vegas.
Fortunately for Fred Vasseur’s team, ‘s qualifying was less than ideal. will line up in P6, just behind title rival , while Oscar Piastri could only put his MCL38 on the fourth row of the grid.