Leclerc praises Sainz tow after edging Verstappen to pole for French Grand Prix

Sainz,
who
starts
at
the
back
of
the
grid
following
a
fourth
engine
change
of
the
season,
looked
to
be
the
quickest
throughout
qualifying
before
switching
his
approach
in
Q3
to
help
Leclerc
finish
ahead
of
his
title
rival.

It
secures
Leclerc’s
seventh
pole
of
the
season
and
the
16th
of
his
career
as
he
looks
to
rejuvenate
his
title
bid
following
difficulties
in
recent
races,
and
he
was
clear
it
would
have
been
a
harder
task
without
Sainz.

“I
struggled
all
weekend
to
put
a
lap
together,
but
I
managed
to
do
it.
I
have
to
say,
I
also
had
the
help
of
Carlos
and
that
was
amazing
teamwork,”
he
said
on
the
grid.

“Without
Carlos
it
would
have
been
much
more
close
so
a
huge
thank
you
to
Carlos
and
I
hope
that
he
can
join
us
in
the
fight
for
the
win
tomorrow.

“The
car
feels
good
but
it’s
difficult
to
understand
what
the
Red
Bull
guys
have
done
yesterday,
as
there
was
loads
of
difference
in
terms
of
lap
times,
so
let’s
see
how
it
goes
tomorrow.”

Verstappen
looked
to
be
in
fine
form
with
the
Red
Bull
ace
showing
great
pace
throughout
the
free
practice
sessions,
but
he
couldn’t
quite
put
it
together
in
qualifying
and
sits
behind
Leclerc
at
the
start
–
the
sixth
time
in
2022
the
pair
have
been
on
the
front
row
together.

“Overall,
I
think
we
were
lacking
a
bit
in
qualifying,
just
with
general
grip.
It
was
a
bit
more
tricky
than
I
would
have
hoped
but
we
still
have
a
decent
race
car,”
Verstappen
said.

“Hopefully,
tomorrow
will
come
to
our
favour.
We’re
quick
on
the
straights,
so
hopefully
we
can
use
that
tomorrow.
It’s
going
to
be
a
bit
warmer.
Clearly,
Ferrari
have
been
very
quick
again.”

Sergio
Perez
will
start
third,
bouncing
back
after
struggling
to
find
pace
in
the
practice
sessions,
and
admitted
it
had
been
a
difficult
few
days.

“It’s
been
a
good
recovery
over
the
whole
weekend,
I
have
been
struggling
a
lot,
I
think
it
has
been
my
worst
weekend
up
to
qualifying
really
but
we
managed
to
recover
well,”
he
said.

Perez
sits
ahead
of
Lewis
Hamilton,
who
will
start
fourth,
which
means
Mercedes’ wait
for
a
top-three
start
on
the
grid
continues,
with
it
already
being
their
longest
stint
into
a
F1
season
without
one.

PROVISIONAL
CLASSIFICATION

1.
Charles
Leclerc
(Ferrari)
1:30:872
2.
Max
Verstappen
(Red
Bull)
+0.304
3.
Sergio
Perez
(Red
Bull)
+0.463
4.
Lewis
Hamilton
(Mercedes)
+0.893
5.
Lando
Norris
(McLaren)
+1.160
6.
George
Russell
(Mercedes)
+1.259
7.
Fernando
Alonso
(Alpine)
+1.680
8.
Yuki
Tsunoda
(Alpha
Tauri)
+1.908
9.
Carlos
Sainz
(Ferrari)
No
Time
10.
Kevin
Magnusson
(Haas)
No
Time

Source:
OPTA