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Charles Leclerc says beginning the Mexican Grand Prix from pole place ought to give the additional benefit of constructing it simpler to maintain his automobile cool within the scorching circumstances.
Cooling is very vital within the excessive altitude of Mexico Metropolis. Leclerc hopes that by staying forward of his rivals he can keep away from the drawback of operating within the scorching air of different automobiles.
“It’s a really tough race right here,” he mentioned. “The whole lot can can occur, particularly with the cooling, the place whichever automobile that’s behind will do a bit extra administration. So it could actually play in our favour.”
Nonetheless he acknowledged he’ll first have to make sure he doesn’t lose his benefit from pole place on the long term to show one.
“We have to do a very good begin and beginning first right here is all the time tough to maintain that place into the primary nook. However we’ve had fairly good begins this 12 months so I’m assured we are able to preserve that first place into flip one after which we’ll attempt to do our greatest race.”
Leclerc could have his crew mate Carlos Sainz Jnr alongside him at first however expects the strongest risk will come from Max Verstappen in third place behind them.
“This 12 months clearly Max has been extraordinarily sturdy on on the race tempo. So in the meanwhile it’s Max [who is the favourite]. We nonetheless have loads of work to do as a crew I feel to match them with our race tempo.”
Leclerc’s pole place got here as a shock to many as he had solely been sixth-fastest in Q2. He mentioned he discovered eight tenths of a second to take pole in Q3 by “simply having a cleaner lap.”
“In Q2 it was a bit messy with the visitors exiting the pit lane,” he defined. “The nice and cozy-up is super-important and it’s very, very tough to place the tyres in the best window right here. So the whole lot makes a distinction.
“It was very unhealthy within the out-lap, then I had a little bit of visitors additionally in my lap and all of that made an enormous distinction. Nevertheless it made a a lot greater distinction than what I assumed as a result of regardless that I knew there was a bit extra time coming, I didn’t anticipate to achieve eight tenths.”
An error on Leclerc’s remaining lap in Q3 meant he was unable to enhance additional, although he was nonetheless fast sufficient to take pole place.
“I didn’t achieve a lot from the primary to the second lap simply because I locked up in flip 4, I feel it was,” he mentioned. “So from that second onwards I knew my lap was principally achieved. So it wasn’t that a lot of a shock that I wasn’t in a position to enhance on that second lap.”
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2023 Mexican Grand Prix
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