Charles Leclerc A Bit ‘Surprised’ By Red Bull’s Qualifying Pace

Charles Leclerc isn’t taking Red Bull any lightly and there’s a reason for it, after all!

Perhaps it may not be entirely incorrect to state that Red Bull often tend to hold the joker’s card in the pack in Formula 1. Right? Here’s a context. Let us ask ourselves a question. How many of us gave the Christian Horner-led outfit in 2018 to win its maiden home Grand Prix (Spielberg, Austria)?

Moreover, the dominant manner in which Max Verstappen clinched the Mexican GP on both occasions- 2017 and 2018- did seem to surprise the usual frontrunners at the grid, did it not?

At a time where Mercedes and Ferrari seem to be the usual powerhouses in Formula 1, the Christian Horner-led outfit’s Bull’s run as seen in their wins at Baku 2017, Monaco and China (2018)- is indeed commendable.

Every now and again do Red Bull pull up something quite incredible, perhaps of the manner in which Ricciardo pulled off that sensational win at Monaco (ahead of Seb, 2018).

And on Friday too, Red Bull seemed quite dominant during the free-practice run for the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix, indeed a momentous occasion for the sport.

In fact, so dominant seemed the Max Verstappen-Pierre Gasly driven side that it took Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc completely by surprise.

Interestingly, in the build-up to the 2019 Chinese GP, Sebastian Vettel, who last took the top step of the podium at Shanghai in 2009, had expected Red Bull to be in the front than where the team were in Bahrain.

So what happened?

During the opening day of the running in China, Max Verstappen ended at a strong third at the legendary track at Shanghai. In so doing, he would emerge the third-fastest of the day and would even remain ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

And while Ferrari seem to be ‘there’ in their overall performance, this is being touted to be an excellent contest.

After all, Round Three of the 2019 F1 season is slated to be a race that promises plenty of overtaking, especially given that the circuit boasts of the longest main straight stretch at 1.4 km.

In lines with Red Bull’s impressive showing on Friday, Charles Leclerc shared the following observations:

“Mercedes and Red Bull, everyone is pretty close here,” said Leclerc. “We definitely did not expect Red Bull to be so close but it’s a good surprise. At least there will be some fight on the track and we’re really looking forward to it.”