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Charles Leclerc narrowly missed out on pole position at the 2022 F1 Japanese GP, finishing behind championship contender Max Verstappen. The Monegasque was unable to beat Verstappen's blisteringly-fast Q3 lap and will have to fight the Dutchman for the win tomorrow.
Charles Leclerc and Ferrari looked mighty in Suzuka, especially in the second sector, where he managed to pip Max Verstappen and Red Bull. The Ferrari driver, however, missed out on pole position by 0.010 seconds, giving Verstappen the advantage for Sunday's main race. To make matters worse for the 24-year-old, Verstappen could clinch his second title win if he manages to win the race with the fastest lap - and he has currently put himself in the best possible position to do so.
Speaking to Johnny Herbert in parc fermé, Leclerc claimed to be expecting a 'fun race' on Sunday. He said:
“Well, it’s a very tricky lap around here because whenever you are fast in the first sector, then you lose out in the last sector. And I tried to find that balance in the last lap but lost a little bit of the tyres in the last sector and ultimately lost time. So yeah, it’s so close with everyone though so that’s nice.”
He then added about Sunday's race, saying:
“Very limited data going into the race so that’s always a challenge. But, the feeling was good with the car so, yeah, let’s wait and see the conditions cause it seems like it is going to have a bit of rain somewhere in the race. Should be a fun race.”
Charles Leclerc stopped believing he could be 2022 F1 champion halfway into the season
Charles Leclerc said that he stopped believing that he was going to win the World Championship this year about halfway into the season. He revealed that after the summer break, he was quite hopeful of catching up with Max Verstappen and winning the title. After the Belgian Grand Prix, however, he realized that he couldn't win this year against the Dutchman.
He told RacingNews365:
“We saw that gap in performance between us and Red Bull at Spa, a gap we had never seen in the first part of the year, so I knew it was going to be very difficult. After the Belgian Grand Prix, I realised that I was not going to win the world championship.”
Charles Leclerc, who had a sizable gap to Max Verstappen at the start of the season, now stands to lose the championship to the Dutchman at Suzuka. If the Red Bull driver manages to win the race with the fastest lap, he will be crowned a two-time world champion on Sunday.
