Formula 1: Ferrari played in the team and Sainz helped Leclerc to take pole position in France

Four Formula 1 races had passed. From the Baku road that Charles Leclerc did not get pole, despite being the one who had accumulated the most of the season. But in France, the trend was reversed and it was thanks to Carlos Sainz and teamwork that Ferrari so badly needed. Thus the Monegasque obtained his seventh pole of the year at the Paul Ricard circuit, with a 304 thousandth advantage over Max Verstappen, his great contender for the title.

Despite being penalized for changing elements of his power unit e be sentenced to the last row (he will be 19th because Kevin Magnussen has also modified his engine and will start 20th) of the French Grand Prix, Sainz went out for a spin in Q3. He had nothing to gain, but his teammate did and so he demonstrated it in the first quick lap, when he towed Leclerc to set the pace for the session.

The strategy has not changed in the latest attempt to remain permanently on pole, while Verstappen gritted his teeth behind. In the first sector, Leclerc -trained by Sainz- lowered sector 1 of his previous lap by 10 thousandths. Although the Dutchman was then 120 thousandths faster in the second, the Monegasque closed the lap 1: 30.872, 304 thousandths faster than the sample. All because of the aspiration his partner had given him.

“It was a nice ride. But without Carlos (giving me a trailer) I would have been much closer. Many thanks to him. The car feels good. . After Q1 I was very surprised by the pace we had, but we reversed the position we had with Red Bull. Let’s see how it goes tomorrow, ”said the 24-year-old driver, who has just won the last test in Austria, home to Red Bull.

On Sunday he will not have the help of Sainz, who will start from the last row and will share the first row with Verstappen, looking in the rearview mirror Checo Pérezwho was third and will start with Hamilton at his side.

Hence, Lando Norris, George Russell, Fernando Alonso, Yuki Tsunoda, Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon will come out up to fifth place. The last two did not enter Q3 but benefited from the penalties of Sainz (9th) and Magnussen (10th).

Teamwork in particular didn’t go well with Verstappen, who declined to answer the question of whether he was disappointed., even as it reflected on his face. “It was clear that the third free practice session (where he was the fastest) was not the classification – the championship leader and reigning champion clarified-. It was more complicated than I would have liked, I hope that tomorrow things will go in our favor. gets hotter, we’ll see.

The twelfth date of the Formula 1 calendar will be launched Sunday at 10 in Argentina and will be televised by Fox Sports and Star +. If you have a quarter of the excitement of the third quarter, it will be enough to please the French (and worldwide) fans who have sold out at Paul Ricard.

Leclerc, always ahead

Leclerc’s seventh pole of the year, despite Sainz’s Q3 trailer, he seemed to be taking no chances during qualifying. In Q1 the Monegasque was the fastest from the start and the most interesting thing was among the eliminated at the end.

Vettel entered Q2 on the last flying lap placing 11th. Mick Schumacher, who looked inside, was eliminated for exceeding the track limits and was also eliminated, along with Latifi (20th), Zhou (18th), Stroll (17th) and local Gasly (16th). ), while Magnussen, despite the penalty, went out for a lap and finished sixth.

Although Haas attempted to vindicate the race control decision on Schumacher, confirmed the decision to cancel the last time for the Germanwho sat in his car until that resolution reached the ears of the radio.

The first to set the fastest lap in Q2 was Hamilton: 1: 33.329, 323 thousandths faster than his partner Russell. But that climax didn’t last long. While waiting for Leclerc and Verstappen, Lando Norris lowered the record to 1: 32.777, which was soon improved by Leclerc by 190 thousandths (1: 32.587).

Although Verstappen broke the split and signed a 1: 31.990130 thousandths faster than Checo Pérez for the transitional 1-2 of Red Bull, Carlos Sainz, still penalized and knowing he would start from the back row, set the best time: 1: 31.081, almost a second faster than Verstappen. “That’s enough?” joked the Spaniard, who flew with a record in all areasin radio communication with his engineer Ferrari, who informed him that he was almost a second faster than Verstappen.

If the definition of Q1 was interesting, that of Q2 was heart-pounding. Hamilton and Alonso narrowly missed out on Q3 but finished fifth and sixth respectively. Thus, the five eliminated were Ricciardo, the local Ocon, Bottas, Vettel and Albon.

So Sainz (1st) and Magnussen (8th), already penalized and at the bottom of the grid, took the place of two drivers in the last part of the standings, to which they advanced. Leclerc, Verstappen, Checo Pérez, Hamilton, Alonso, Russell, Norris and Tsunoda. What happened there is already known history (and celebrated by the fans).