Charles Leclerc (5/4 Race Winner) is looking forward to Sunday’s French Grand Prix after he claimed his seventh pole position of the 2022 F1 season with a time of 1:30.872 in qualifying on Saturday.
Leclerc has been the man to beat this season when it comes to qualifying and he managed to ensure he started from the front of the grid at Circuit Paul Ricard on Sunday, with his time 0.304secs quicker than title rival Max Verstappen (EVS Fav – Race Winner) in second.
The Monegasque has not made the most of his pole positions this term and, apart from races in Bahrain and Australia, he failed to go on and take the win when heading the grid in Miami, Spain, Monaco and Azerbaijan.
Speaking after Q3 on Saturday, the 24-year-old said he was happy with the performance and is now eager to see how the car performs in Sunday’s Grand Prix.
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“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,” he said, as quoted by BBC Sport. “I was very surprised by the pace we had.
“We managed to turn it around for qualifying. The car felt good, 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.”
Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez (14/1 Race Winner) will start from third, with the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton (14/1) next to him, while McLaren’s Lando Norris will begin from fifth and the second Silver Arrow of George Russell is sixth.
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda are seventh and eighth respectively while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and the Haas of Kevin Magnussen were ninth and 10th, although the latter pair will start the race from the back of the grid due to engine penalties.
With the pair dropping to the back, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon have been promoted to ninth and 10th respectively.
