Leclerc conquers pole in France with Ferrari teamwork

   MADRID, 23 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) won pole position at the Paul Ricard Circuit this Saturday and will lead the starting grid on Sunday at the French Grand Prix race, the twelfth round of the Formula 1 World Championship, ahead of the Red Bull of Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez, with Fernando Alonso (Alpine) seventh.

With a time of 1:30.872, Leclerc was the fastest in Q3 thanks, in part, to the help of Carlos Sainz's slipstream, who was the Monegasque's squire as he was not on the list for the first position on the grid due to a penalty after mounting a new power unit on his car.

The Dutch Verstappen will complete the first row in Paul Ricard, after a rather poor lap, three tenths behind the Monegasque (1:31.176), while 'Checo' Pérez will start third with a time of 1:31.335. For his part, Alonso was able to be seventh (1:31.552) at 'home', after Norris finished Q3 in fifth place, between the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russel.

Thus, the driver from Madrid, who mounted his fourth engine in this GP and will start penultimate this Sunday, played a crucial role in his teammate's pole position, after Kevin Magnussen (Haas), also sanctioned for the same reason, forced him to leave the garage until in Q3. The Dane will start in last place on the grid, after Sainz set his best time of the weekend (1:31.081) with an exhibition in Q2.

They are less happy in the Austrian team, always in tow of Ferrari -which led all the qualifying rounds- and after 'Mad Max', 'poleman' in France in 2021 and the fastest in free practice 3, could not overcome to the Italian single-seaters, who seem to be the best at Paul Ricard, at least for one lap. Of course, Red Bull will be able to attack the Monegasque this Sunday, having his two cars behind Leclerc.

Hamilton, very toned on the French track, and George Russell, fourth (1:31.765) and sixth (1:32.131), respectively, this Sunday, are two serious options for the podium at Paul Ricard, although the British Lando Norris (McLaren) took advantage of the gap between the Mercedes to sneak into the third row and take fifth place on the grid, thanks to a good final lap of Q3.

And so Alonso finally fell to seventh place for this Sunday. The Asturian was the best of the Alpines with a time in Q3 of 1:32.552, after local driver Esteban Ocon stayed in Q2, securing a twelfth place (1:33.048).

In a qualifying marked by high temperatures, with up to 53º on the track in Q3, the Japanese Yuki Tsunoda was the only good news for Alphatauri, the team with the most improvements for this circuit, with his eighth place, after the Frenchman Pierre Gasly will be eliminated in Q1.