Charles Leclerc was surprised Ferrari were able to beat Red Bull to pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
He claimed the first pole position of the season by just one-tenth of a second from Max Verstappen, who headed the second and third practice sessions.
“We were pretty sure that Red Bull was going to be a bit quicker than us also in qualifying,” said Leclerc. “But a good surprise it wasn’t the case.”
Leclerc took two pole positions last year but the team was unable to win a race, and hasn’t taken a victory since 2019. He praised the team for capitalising on the opportunity offered by Formula 1’s new regulations to start the season at the front.
“It feels good,” he said. “The last few years have been incredibly difficult for the team.
“We were quite hopeful that this was an opportunity to be back in the front. I think we have worked extremely well as a team to find ourselves again in a position to fight for for better places.”
However he admitted he still…