Leclerc, one of F1’s star qualifiers, has had several disappointing results against the clock in 2023, as he has struggled to keep to the minimalistic approach required in mixed conditions to reduce mistakes and keep the sensitive Pirelli tyres in the correct state with his aggressive driving style.
In addition to his Barcelona exit when that qualifying session had followed a wet FP3 and he qualified 19th there, he was eliminated in Canada’s Q2 session when changing from intermediates to slicks.
Plus, after securing a position on the front row for the Austrian GP, he could only manage sixth in the sprint shootout qualifying that followed the next day, held after the hours ahead of that running at the Red Bull Ring had been wet.
Speaking ahead of the Spa weekend, Leclerc had revealed that he and Ferrari had “put quite a bit of work into” addressing what had been going on, which he said "paid off" after he finished second to Max Verstappen in GP qualifying for the Belgian event on Friday evening.
Leclerc said his efforts had been focused on “changes with my driving style”, as “in those conditions, [an aggressive style] just didn't work for me”.
“I was making too many mistakes and it was difficult to build from a solid base,” he added. “So, I changed a little bit the approach and it seems to be better.”
An analysis of Leclerc’s efforts back in Barcelona compared to his driving at Spa on Friday evening reveals a much calmer approach overall.
Source: Autosport