Charles Leclerc to start French GP in pole position with Lewis Hamilton fourth after qualifying
CHARLES LECLERC used help from Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz to beat Formula One leader Max Verstappen and take pole position for the French Grand Prix on Saturday.
Sainz had nothing at stake since he was starting from the back of the grid after multiple engine-part changes, so Ferrari used him to give Leclerc a tow on his two runs in Q3.
Leclerc was up by just .008 seconds from Verstappen after his first run.
The team worked seamlessly on Leclerc’s second run as he beat his own leading time and finished .3 seconds ahead of Verstappen and .46 clear of the Formula One champ’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.
Leclerc said: “It was a great lap. I have to say thanks to Carlos for the help. It was great teamwork.
“It’s quite tricky to get it exactly right, in the first lap we were maybe a bit too close. In the second lap we adapted and it was a bit better.”
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British superstar Sir Lewis Hamilton managed to qualify in fourth for Mercedes.
Leclerc thanked Sainz on the team radio after his seventh pole of the season and 16th of his career.
It was also a good sign of Ferrari working together, after Leclerc expressed frustration at team orders in Monaco and at the British GP.
Leclerc added: “It’s all about trust in the end. Carlos judged it perfectly and got out of the way at the right moment. It would have been a lot tighter with Max without the tow.”
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Verstappen said Ferrari’s tactics were smart but that it wasn’t something Red Bull could try, since they were both going for pole.
The Dutc star was happy with Red Bull’s straight-line speed but had a bit of trouble getting the tires in the right window in hot conditions that are set to increase for Sunday’s race.
Verstappen said: “On that final lap I just had two moments that cost me a bit of lap time. But we still have two cars in the top three, so that’s good.
“It was a bit more tricky than I would have hoped, but overall we have a decent car for tomorrow.”
Sainz’s engine caught fire near the end of the last Grand Prix in Austria two weeks ago.
He was handed a 10-place grid penalty on Friday because Ferrari changed the power unit, and extra engine changes on Saturday sent him to the last row with Kevin Magnussen, whose Haas team made similar engine changes.
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McLaren’s Lando Norris was fifth and Hamilton’s team-mate George Russel in sixth whereas McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo was 11th and eliminated.
Russel was still in the drop zone with four minutes left in Q2, and was worried about a potential yellow flag scuppering his final lap so he asked to come out as early as possible.
Ferrari is seeking a third consecutive victory following Sainz’s win at Silverstone and Leclercs drive to victory in Austria, where he trimmed Verstappen’s overall lead to 38 points.
Red Bull and Ferrari have won the first 11 races between them, with Red Bull up 7-4.
The atmosphere at the Paul Ricard Circuit in southeastern France was calm compared to some of the boorish behavior at recent races.