After his first run in Q3, Charles Leclerc was at the bottom and things looked particularly bad for Ferrari and Leclerc, but with a great lap Leclerc still managed to qualify on the front row and that came as a big surprise.
“In Q1 and Q2 I was worried about getting through to the next qualifying part and in the end I’m on the front row, which is great,” Leclerc said after qualifying. “The car is very ‘peaky’ for whatever reason. When we drove on scrubbed tires, like during the first run in Q3, we were last.”
“I didn’t have much hope, but when we put new tires on the car, the car came to life. It felt great. Again, I rode a great lap. I’m really happy to be on the front row but it was a big surprise!”
“To be honest, based on the weekend so far, I didn’t expect that at all, that last lap.”
“I knew I had to get everything done right. In the last corner I slid a little too much, but I think everyone had that.”
The main objective tomorrow is to beat Mercedes and finish second in the Constructors’ Championship. Leclerc not only wants to have a good race himself, he hopes that teammate Carlos Sainz from P16 will also be able to join the battle with Mercedes, especially with Lewis Hamilton who starts the race from P11.
“I hope it goes well,” said Leclerc. That is the goal, to beat Mercedes in the constructors’ championship.”
“I really hope Carlos has a great start and joins me in the fight. Let us try to finish both cars ahead of both Mercedes cars and finish second in the Constructors’ Championship.”