Carlos Sainz took his first pole of the series at Silverstone with 0.072 seconds over defending champion Max Verstappen, who was hampered by yellow flags on his last lap.
They had been caused by the third Leclerc, who turned at the exit of the Chapel curve in his last flight race, the winner of the Bahrain and Australian GP had touched a piece of stagnant water.
Leclerc said he will be “very happy” if Sainz turns his lead into an inaugural F1 victory, although the Monegasque believes the team’s 1-2 was the priority.
He therefore hinted that the Ferrari box wall could intervene with “strategic moves”.
Leclerc, who considered that “he did not deserve to be in the pole” as a result of his mistake, said: “Of course, I will be very happy if Carlos wins the race tomorrow.
“But I will not hide that I also want to win. I think the most important thing is that we finish 1-2, anyway.
“If we can make strategic moves between cars, I’m pretty sure we will. I feel safe with the car, so we’ll wait and see. “
Sainz enters the race looking for a return to the balance of the car he enjoyed in Friday’s second practice session as the car lost in the high-speed laps during Saturday’s FP3 race.
The Spaniard was surprised to land the stick, in part because an incorrect delta left him unsure of his pace in Q3, and because he had run out of battery on the Stowe corner.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75
Photo by: Drew Gibson / Motorsport Images
Sainz sided with Leclerc, acknowledging that the Scuderia duo would work together to reject Verstappen and Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who will be in fourth place.
He said: “I agree. I think we will work as a team, as we have done all season.
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“I’m sure that between Charles and I we can fight with Max and, obviously, without forgetting Sergio, who will also attack.
“They were very fast in FP3, so I think if we can work [together]we can get a 1-2 “.
Ferrari team leader Mattia Binotto said that despite the “great result”, the race would be a “different picture” in the classification and that he “had no idea” of the optimal tires or the stopping strategy. in boxes.
Speaking to Sky, however, he said the championship was still at stake although “reliability is a concern” after Leclerc’s withdrawals from Spain and Baku, in addition to Red Bull facing the race after winning the most recent six rounds.
He said: “They won seven races [this season], [we] only two. But there are some races we were leading, and we had a reliability issue, so I think a 5-4 or a 4-5 could have been easy.
“The battle is very tight … there are still a lot of races to do.
“Reliability is a concern for us, but it can also be a concern for them. Every race has to be done and finished, so we keep pressing and watching. “