The British GP qualifying went right down to the wire as Carlos Sainz clinched his maiden pole in Formula 1. While it was ecstasy for the Spaniard, his teammate was in agony despite finishing P3. Charles Leclerc was on course to set a stunning lap, but he spun during the last stages of Q3.
His pace matched the front runners, Sainz and Verstappen, but the spin proved costly in the end. Leclerc was clearly devastated after his mis-control and bemoaned on the radio. He said, “F*ck!! That’s it, no?” to which his engineer confirmed the bad news.
Team boss Mattia Binotto also joined in on the radio as he showed his frustration, saying, “Ah, that was the fastest, Charles.” After knowing his position, the Monegasque enquired, “Where was I? Was it fast?” to which his engineer replied the close margin he was to match the top two.
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He conveyed, “You were 2 tenths faster, sector 1, and you were improving on sector 2.” The 24-year-old was apologetic and added, “F*ck this. F*ck, that was the lap, sorry.”
However, all is not lost for Leclerc as the Silverstone circuit has proved to be an exciting track for overtaking. He will look to re-create Sebastian Vettel’s 2018 British GP heroics with Ferrari when the German started from 2nd and ultimately won the race.
Charles Leclerc reflects on a disappointing qualifying
Leclerc and Ferrari finished behind the Red Bulls during the FP3 session. Moreover, the rain played a huge role in making things more interesting for the qualifying. The result will frustrate the Monegasque, but he has plenty to look forward to during tomorrow’s race.
What a session at Silverstone 🤯@CarlosSainz55 👉 P1 @Charles_Leclerc 👉 P3 #essereFerrari 🔴 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/vCwdfD1OfU
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) July 2, 2022
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Speaking after the qualifying, he said, “I am (disappointed) but happy for Carlos, he did a great job today. I spun on that last lap, I knew it was the lap where I had to put everything together and I didn’t as a driver, so I didn’t deserve to be on pole.
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“P3 is still a good position to start in for tomorrow’s race and hopefully we can put everything together and come back.”
Leclerc will hope to close the gap to Verstappen as the points difference is widening with just over 10 races to go. Can Leclerc end his winless drought in Silverstone or will Sainz and Verstappen have a say?