Fellow Ferrari local hero Carlos Sainz secured third on the grid for Sunday, with George Russell taking fourth for a resurrected Mercedes team.
Russell’s teammate and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton qualified sixth behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.
“It was a very, very difficult session…because I made a mistake in the opening and then obviously I only had one lap,” Leclerc said after his fourth pole position in six races and the second in a row.
Leclerc spun on his first fastest lap of the final session and, with Verstappen fastest, was left with just one lap to go and everything on the line.
“It’s gone extremely well, I’ve had (a few) moments on my lap, but in the end I’ve made it and I’m very, very happy with pole position,” he said.
Verstappen, who has won the last two races to reduce the championship gap to 19 points, complained over the radio of a loss of power at a key moment on the final lap.
“I couldn’t do my final race. I had a DRS (drag reduction system) that didn’t open or I just lost power, so it’s a shame,” said the Dutch driver.
“But I think overall being on the front row here, considering the whole weekend so far, was a nice achievement. But of course I would have liked to go for that last lap.”
Sainz, who has yet to win in Formula 1, said anything was possible.
“The conditions have not been the easiest with the heat, with the wind, but today we managed to do a decent lap which means we can fight tomorrow,” he said.
McLaren’s Lando Norris looked set to break into the top 10, but his best time was scrapped in the second session for exceeding track limits, allowing Haas’ Mick Schumacher to move ahead and qualify.
The British teammate, the Australian Daniel Ricciardo, reached the final session and started ninth.
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
