Charles Leclerc took pole for the French Grand Prix at Circuit Paul Ricard. He put in a fine lap for Ferrari with precision teamwork to beat the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez into second and third. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were fourth and sixth, with McLaren’s Lando Norris fifth.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished in ninth place. As the team knew he would be starting from the back row of the grid having taken new power unit components this weekend beyond his allocation, they chose to use it tactically to Leclerc’s advantage in the classification.
Leclerc set the pace on his first hot lap in Q3, blazingly fast in the first and third sectors, enjoying a rebuff from teammate Sainz on the Mistral straight. It was a vital advantage as Verstappen, trailing him on track, was breathing down his neck and crossed the line just eight thousandths of a second down, setting up a powerful showdown for the final stages.
Ferrari repeated their tactic in the second laps with Sainz in front of Leclerc, but Red Bull opted not to use Perez in a similar fashion for Verstappen. Once again, Leclerc, following Sainz, took advantage before the Spaniard drifted out of his way and the Monegasque smashed his previous lap in 1min 30.872sec, with Verstappen three tenths behind. Ferrari, the subject of criticism for tactics this season, had played this one to perfection.
This is Leclerc’s 16th career pole and seventh this season, in which he has shown remarkable pace in a single lap. It is his first in France, where his previous best was third in 2019, and with Red Bull showing improved single-lap form last time out, this will be a welcome statement of intent from Leclerc with his first pole in four races. It could also be vital as he now has the early lead at a track where every race has been won from pole since F1 returned in 2018.
Charles Leclerc was three tenths faster than Max Verstappen. Photo: Eric Gaillard/AP
He has to make it count. With six wins this season, Verstappen has established a dominant position in the title race, while Ferrari have suffered mechanical failures that have proved costly for Leclerc in the first 11 rounds. Verstappen now has a 38-point lead over second-placed Leclerc and 57 points over Perez.
Hamilton will hit his 300th race this weekend, but it’s unlikely to be the celebration he would have hoped for. Despite the optimism of moving towards the favourites, Mercedes’ pace in qualifying didn’t seem to have brought them any closer. Hamilton was nine tenths behind Leclerc and Russell more than a second behind.
Hamilton, 37, enters his 16th season in the sport where he has already equaled Michael Schumacher’s record seven titles and is the most successful driver with 103 poles and 103 wins. Only five other drivers have competed in 300 or more grands prix, but none of those five – Kimi Räikkönen, Fernando Alonso, Rubens Barrichello, Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button – took a win after surpassing the 300 mark. Hamilton he won’t worry about the stats and has said he’s confident Mercedes can still compete for wins this season, but it’s clear they’re not there yet. His outstanding record of winning at least once in every season he has competed in F1 since 2007 appears to be under real threat.
Mercedes expected a competition this weekend. After a series of upgrades leading up to Silverstone proved productive and with the porpoise issue that has plagued their car seemingly now under control, they were hoping to bring the performance to the W13. A new nose was deployed in France and with high temperatures the circuit, with its smooth, flat surface and high-speed setup, was expected to suit his car. Although fourth was a solid result, the gap to Leclerc remains a chasm.
Fernando Alonso was seventh for Alpine and Yuki Tsunoda was eighth for AlphaTauri. Kevin Magnussen was 10th, but will start from the back of the grid after picking up new power unit components.
Daniel Ricciardo was 11th with McLaren and Esteban Ocon was 12th with Alpine. Valtteri Bottas was 13th for Alfa Romeo, Sebastian Vettel 14th for Aston Martin and Alexander Albon 15th for Williams.
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Pierre Gasly was 16th for AlphaTauri, Lance Stroll in 17th for Aston Martin and Guanyu Zhou in 18th for Alfa Romeo. Mick Schumacher was 19th for Haas and Nicholas Latifi in 20th for Williams.