Charles Leclerc grabs the pole in Ferrari’s continuing quest to close the season gap with Red Bull.
LE CASTELLET, France—Charles Leclerc took his seventh pole of the season and 16th pole of his career on Saturday afternoon by clocking a 1:30:872 at the Paul Ricard Circuit in preparation for Sunday’s French GP. Max Verstappen took second, with Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez in third.
The Monegasque had a good tow from his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz Jr., which allowed him to create more of a gap that might have been closer to a result if the Spaniard had not assisted him.
Charles Leclerc: It was a great lap. I’ve struggled all weekend to put a lap together, but I put it in, and I have to say thanks to Carlos for the help. It was great teamwork.
Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished in the top ten, placing fourth and sixth, respectively, with McLaren’s Lando Norris in between in sixth. Alpine’s Fernando Alonso was seventh, with Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in eighth. Sainz Jr. and Haas F1’s Kevin Magnussen took ninth and tenth, but both will start from the back of the grid due to power unit replacements.
Both Ferraris opened the qualifying by taking the first two sessions. Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly, Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, and Williams Nicholas Latifi were kicked out of the opening round. Haas F1’s Mick Schumacher had his time deleted at the last moment of the session for going over track limits at turn three, which could have carried him into the second session, but ended up eliminating him from moving onwards.
Sebastian Vettel joined his Aston Martin teammate Stroll by exiting the second session, along with Latifi’s Williams teammate Alex Albon, Zhou’s Alfa Romeo’s second driver Valtteri Bottas, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, who was racing on his home circuit.
For Leclerc, success on Saturday will hopefully turn into a victory on Sunday. “The car felt good, and it is difficult to understand what the Red Bull guys did yesterday as there was loads of difference with lap times. Let’s see how it goes tomorrow.”
