Charles Leclerc made the ‘pole’ in the French Grand Prix

The Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), second overall in the Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship, This Saturday he got pole position for Sunday’s race at the French Grand Prix, at the Paul Ricard circuit in Le Castellet.

Leclerc won the current World Cup leader and reigning world champion, the Dutchman, in the qualifying session Max Verstappen (Red Bull), which will start second.

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The Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) and Englishman Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) They will appear on the second line in this twelfth date of the twenty-two of the season. The Monegasque finished at the head of a suspenseful qualifying session, where he had made a whirlwind start under the barrier of 1 minute 32 seconds in one lap (1:31.727), closely followed by Verstappen.

Leclerc did even better in the final seconds of Q3, being the only one to pass under 1 minute and 31 seconds (1:30.872), eventually achieving the seventh pole position of this season, with the effective help of his team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr. in the other Ferrari.

Clear and front

“It was a very good lap, and I must say that I also had the help of Carlos, giving me aspiration. Without him, everything would have been much tighter. It was truly a team effort”, reacted Leclerc, after having won some precious tenths second, by staying just behind the Spanish in the fastest portions.

Sainz knew that he was going to be relegated to the last row of the grid on Sunday, next to the Dane Kevin Magnussen (Haas)due to the placement, on Saturday, of its fourth engine this season, that is, one more with respect to the authorized quota.

“I’m happy for the team, but it’s frustrating for me. because without the penalty I would have also had the pace for pole position”, declared the Spanish driver.

“I think today I proved that I’m back and since there’s half the season left to play…” he added.

Magnussen also went through Q3, for pleasure, knowing that he would be at the bottom of the grid on Sunday, which shows clear progress in recent weeks for his small American team.

Verstappen is 38 points clear of Leclerc in the championship standings at mid-season, after eleven races out of 22. But Leclerc leads 7-3 in the pole position standings of this season.

“They have a better top speed than us, but I think their advantage will be less obvious on Sunday because it will be very hot and the tires will have to be preserved a bit,” warned Verstappen.

lime and sand

In the Top 10, but behind the “top teams”, the Spaniard Fernando Alonso (Alpine) will start seventh on the grid, behind Lando Norris (5th) in his McLaren and George Russell in the other Mercedes.

Among the French, the drivers racing ‘at home’ this weekend, the qualifying session was a disappointment. Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri) fHe was eliminated in Q1, with the 16th time trial. For his part, Esteban Ocon (Alpine) fell in Q2, with the 12th time trial, although he will start the race tenth due to penalties from Sainz and Magnussen.

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AFP