Charles Leclerc (2nd in practice / 2nd in qualifying)
The third rider in the World Championship standings has won six of the first ten qualifiers this year. In the eleventh, he reached for the seventh triumph. However, Max Verstappen robbed him of pole position in the last seconds. As for the sprint, Leclerc didn’t talk about his ambitions to win. He mainly hopes for more luck than in the last races.
“I just want a clean race. We have five grand prix behind us, which turned out quite tragically for me. So I hope everything goes smoothly this time and we get the points we deserve. I think the top of the field is very, very balanced, which was also reflected in the exciting qualifying.
I didn’t manage to warm up the tires very well in the last timed lap. The long time in the pits during the interruption took its toll. Max was just a bit faster. I congratulate him and I hope we have an exciting race tomorrow,” said Leclerc.
Carlos Sainz (7th in practice / 3rd in qualifying)
The winner of the Silverstone race also complained of problems with the heating of the tires. As a result, he couldn’t trust his car 100 percent.
“When you look at the times and see those minimal differences, you can’t help but study your best lap. You’re looking for small mistakes that could bring the tenths that separated you from pole position. But it is clear to me that the two guys in front of me also know where they could have been even faster.
The positive thing is that we managed to do a good lap at the end of Q3. It wasn’t easy because the tires were very cold after the red flags. I know what we’re up to, I just wish I could have set a slightly better time,” admitted Sainz.
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