At the site where he took his first-ever F1 pole in 2019, Leclerc secured the top spot again at Sakhir after a nail-biting qualifying shootout, which featured three drivers within 0.129s.
After the first set of Q3 runs Leclerc had to settle for second behind Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz, but on his second lap he went a tenth quicker to keep both the Spaniard and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who nicked second by a mere 0.006s, at bay.
While Ferrari had looked strong all pre-season, Leclerc said the Maranello team was convinced Red Bull would still be quicker over one lap, and he said his pole therefore came as a surprise.
“We were pretty sure that Red Bull was going to be a bit quicker than us in qualifying, but a good surprise, it wasn’t the case,” Leclerc said in parc ferme.
“So now we need to do everything for tomorrow, it is not going to be easy. Tyre management will be important, especially with this increased weight this year, so we need to focus on that and hopefully have a…
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