Charles Leclerc storms to pole at French Grand Prix qualifying, Max Verstappen takes second
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Updated 23/07/2022 at 19:00 GMT
Ferrari have been the most impressive team at the French Grand Prix so far this weekend at Circuit Paul Ricard, and they continued their impressive momentum when Charles Leclerc secured pole position. World champion, Red Bull's Max Verstappen, was second fastest with Mercedes' driver Lewis Hamilton fourth.
'I know how to give a good tow' - Sainz happy to give Leclerc a slipstream to pole
Charles Leclerc was fastest at the French Grand Prix qualifying ahead of Sunday’s race.
The two Ferraris have dominated throughout the weekend but with Carlos Sainz set to start from the back of the grid due to a penalty, the Spaniard gave his Monegasque teammate a slipstream tow to launch him to a 1:30.872.
Sainz was committed to helping Leclerc after taking a grid penalty which sees him start at the back of the grid due to using a number of fresh parts.
World champion Max Verstappen was second-quickest, almost a third of a second behind. Teammate Sergio Perez was in third.
Mercedes’ duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were fourth and sixth respectively, with Lando Norris’ McLaren splitting the pair.
Home team Alpine’s driver Fernando Alonso took seventh, followed by Yuki Tsunoda, Sainz and Kevin Magnussen.
In the first session, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll, Zhou Guanyu, Mick Schumacker and Nicolas Latifi were cut. Hamilton almost went with four of them after a yellow flag from Alex Albon's spin threatened to disrupt his efforts, but a final-lap dash saved him and brought him into Q2.
The second run-out saw Albon, Valtteri Bottas, Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo fail to make the grade, as the Australian continues to endure a poor run of form for the British team.
With Sainz well back on the grid for Sunday, Red Bull will hope to team up to put pressure on Leclerc, but with Mercedes' Hamilton and Russell consistent performers in the middle of the pace, and Perez's continued reliability problems, this may be another race decided by factors beyond driver control.
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