Carlos Sainz was disappointed, but delighted on Saturday after providing a key pull that helped Charles Leclerc overtake him and take Ferrari’s pole position at the French Grand Prix. In a perfect display of racing teamwork, the Spaniard, who will start Sunday’s race from behind the grid, drove to help Leclerc find more speed on the long haul. straight.
Leclerc won two tenths of a second and used the edge to overtake Red Bull’s world champion and series leader Max Verstappen by three tenths to take seventh pole position this year and 16th in the race. his career.
Sainz, who was the fastest in Friday’s practice, was fined after Ferrari fitted some new engine parts to his car.
He will start at the back with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, penalized for the same reason.
Sainz said: “I was very fast here all weekend, so I feel a bit disappointed.
“But I’m happy that Charles is so well positioned. He’s going to have to fight Max from the start, but I believe he can do it – it’s all just crucifixion.
“Today showed that we are a very united team. There is a good atmosphere in our team and we are all ready to help each other.”
Leclerc, bidding to deliver a third straight win for Ferrari and severing Verstappen’s 38-point lead in the title race, had plenty of praise for his teammate.
“He did the perfect job and his pull has helped me a lot – I’ve hit two tenths from there so in the last area I have a great mindset. It’s a great one. great job by Carlos,” he said.
Leclerc said he expects a fierce and close battle with Verstappen in Sunday’s race as the two main characters line up on top for the sixth time this year.
“We have higher downforce and that can be good for tire management, but they’re very fast in a straight line and it’s difficult to track here,” Leclerc said.
“Two different approaches. Only time will tell. Let’s see which compromise works best tomorrow.”
Verstappen said he understands why Ferrari chose to use Sainz as the anti-slip support for Leclerc.
“We didn’t have a penalty so that’s why we didn’t do it,” he said.
“It’s a different situation for us and I can understand why they would.
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“We’re faster on the straight so it will be interesting tomorrow to see which philosophy is fastest, but here it’s all about the tires and taking care of them.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the syndication feed.)
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