F1, Charles Leclerc seventh and in the gravel in free practice: “Am I wrong?”

A seventh place, and a few too many worries.

Charles Leclerc finishes late in Saturday morning’s free practice session, the last before qualifying that will determine the starting grid for the Belgian Grand Prix. But more than his seventh-place finish (with the Red Bulls of Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen first and second ahead of Carlos Sainz third), the Monegasque’s concerns are others.

In the closing stages of the session, in fact, Leclerc lost control of his Ferrari in Turn 12, ending up in the gravel. His single-seater merely kissed the barriers, and the driver managed to bring it back to the pits without damage (the only problem cleaning up the bottom from the collected gravel). A tinge of alarm stems, however, from the reason for his excursion off the track.

In fact, Leclerc lost control of the rear tires, shortly after reporting difficulty getting them up to temperature. “I don’t know if I’m doing something wrong,” he let slip on Team Radio. And, with the cold weather at Spa, this variable could pose an additional problem on top of the now familiar grid penalty.

The session ended with Sergio Perez ahead of everyone, thanks to a time of 1:45.047. Behind him Max Verstappen at +0.137, further behind Carlos Sainz in the first Ferrari, at +0.777. As mentioned Leclerc had to settle for seventh time, with a worrying +1.073. The cold weather seems to be his Rossa’s main enemy, with the weather giving some hope, however: on Sunday, in fact, it will be sunny.