“We didn’t expect to be so close to Red Bull,” Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz delighted after Qualifying in the top-3 for the Austrian GP

The Austrian GP weekend is underway, with Ferrari qualifying right behind Max Verstappen. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will start the race from P2 and P3 respectively. The Scuderia has made progress in catching up to Milton Keynes in recent rounds of the season. The two drivers were happy to see a positive result in Qualifying.

Leclerc was happy to have a clean Qualifying session at the Red Bull Ring. The Monegasque driver stated that the team had improved significantly in the last few rounds of the season. The 25-year-old continued to put in decent lap times at the start of the session before giving everything in Q3. He said, “Q1 and Q2 was all about building up to that lap in Q3. I managed to put everything that I wanted in that last lap in Q3.”

Charles Leclerc clarified that the team was surprised with its position in the pecking order. The 25-year-old stated, “We were close to Max, but we didn’t expect to be so close to the Red Bull’s.” The Monegasque driver thanked the team members back at Maranello as Ferrari had introduced major updates to its car in recent rounds.

Discover: Why is number 17 banned in F1?

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz expect a difficult race ahead

Ferrari might have secured its spot on the front row with Leclerc. However, the Monegasque driver is cautious about the team’s prospects on race day. The 25-year-old believed that the Scuderia would need to be consistent to match Red Bull. He said, “Red Bull has the pace and it is going to be difficult.” Charles Leclerc lost out to pole position by only 0.048 seconds.

Similarly, Carlos Sainz was surprised with Ferrari’s pace over one lap compared to Red Bull. The Spanish driver believed that the race might become a different picture altogether on Saturday if conditions change on track. Although Sainz was glad to see the progress made by the Scuderia. He said, “We have made some progress recently. Closer to Max, which isn’t expected.”

Thus, Ferrari drivers are happy with the pace in Qualifying. Though, Leclerc had achieved one pole position earlier this year at the Azerbaijan GP. The Italian team had not expected its pace to be this close to Verstappen and Red Bull. Although, the Scuderia and its drivers know that the team might fall behind Milton Keynes in the race.

In case you missed it:

• Esteban Ocon breaks silence on Ryan Reynolds’ $217 million Alpine Investment
• Max Verstappen urges Orange Army to ‘drink less and behave appropriately’ at the Austrian GP

Stay Updated!

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW