Formula 1: Max Verstappen has just beaten Charles Leclerc at home and will take the lead

Running in the courtyard of his house, the Dutch Max Verstappenaboard his Red Bull, he set the best time in qualifying held this Saturday at the Zandvoort circuit and on Sunday he will start from first place Dutch Grand Prixthe 15th round of the 2022 Formula 1 season.

A head-to-head was expected between the championship leader and the Monegasque Charles Leclerc, third in the series, 98 points from the top. The venue was the first to hit the track in Q3 which would have defined pole and set a time of 1: 10,515, but the Ferrari driver immediately improved that record by 59 thousandths on his first attempt at a fastest lap.

On his second fastest lap, Leclerc lost 93 thousandths of his time, so it looked like first place would remain in his hands. But at the last try and when the checkered flag was about to fall, Verstappen finished his best lap of the circuit of 4,259 meters in 1: 10,342 and so he obtained his fourth pole of the season and the 17th in his career to the delight of the public who, dressed mainly in orange t-shirts, filled the stands of the racecourse.

“Yesterday was a difficult day, but we worked all night with the whole team to reverse the situation. We changed a lot, we ran a lot to fix the car for free practice and then I was able to do a very good lap in a very tight qualifying ”, highlighted the Dutchman after obtaining a first place that could be very important in a circuit where overtaking is not easy.

Despite being relegated to second place, Leclerc was satisfied with the work done on Saturday. “I was a bit scared at first because Max was going too far, but the car improved during qualifying. and in Q3 he performed very well. I was very close but Max had a great lap in the end. Tomorrow we will give our all, we are stronger than last week and I think we will have an excellent race pace ”, he underlined.

Good work also the Spaniard Carlos Sainz on Saturday who finished third, 92 thousandths from the top. “I was at the limit, it was not an easy qualification. However, in the end we did a good job and I managed to complete a clean lap without errors. This circuit is very hard, particularly demanding on the tires. Tomorrow will be an interesting day, there will be many things to do and many strategic options, ”said the second Ferrari driver.

Verstappen’s escort in the championship, his teammate Sergio Pérez, ended the day with a colorful spin that prevented him from climbing beyond fifth place, behind Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and ahead of George Russell (Mercedes), Lando Norris (McLaren), Mick Schumacher (Haas), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), who completed the top 10.

Sunday’s race, which will cover 72 laps of the Zandvoort track, will start at 10 am and will be visible through the Star + platform.