Verstappen pole show, Sainz beats Leclerc

A pole of applause that ignites more and more the challenge with Lewis Hamilton for the 2021 Formula 1 title. Max Verstappen leaves his mark at the Paul Ricard of Le Castellet where he puts everyone in line including the Mercedes world champion who will have to settle for the second position on the starting grid of a French Grand Prix that promises a show between the two rivals for the World Championship. Second row for the numbers two of Red Bull and Stella d'Argendo with Valtteri Bottas in front of Sergio Pérez and then the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz who for the second time beats in qualifying his teammate Charles Leclerc who will start from seventh place- A Saturday as a protagonist for Sainz, who was in third position until one minute from the end of Q3 of the French GP. Then Red Bull and Mercedes asserted the superiority of their cars,and so the Spaniard was satisfied with fifth position on the starting grid. "Do you move forward on fast corners? We are working on this aspect - explains the Spaniard of the Maranello house - but it doesn't happen from one race to the next. In every race we try a different thing to grow in the right direction. Sometimes we will make mistakes and go backwards. , in others we will find improvements. Yesterday the race pace was not bad, in fact it was quite good. Of course, he is far from the top four, but this was not a problem. So on who should Ferrari race? however, if something happens I'll try, as always. But the race will be with Pierre, Charles and the McLarens. " For the second time this season Leclerc was slower than Sainz in qualifying.After two consecutive pole positions in Monaco and Baku, the Monegasque in France was slower than Sainz from the third free practice. "At the end of the lap in Q3 - says Leclerc - I was quite happy despite the position, because I know I put everything I had in that lap. I really struggled to drive with this understeer we had. Carlos did a great job driving much better than me in those conditions there. In the end it is not a bad day for the team. Fifth and seventh is not too bad, we are fighting with those we really struggle with, namely McLarens. But after yesterday I expected more today " , concludes the Monegasque of Ferrari. Ahead Verstappen prepares for the battle with Hamilton from the green light: "So far it has been a highly positive weekend on a track where we have had so many difficulties in the past. In PL2 we have given a turning point, we have improved even today and taking pole position is really nice. Points are not awarded today, but - underlines the Dutch Red Bull driver - it was a great day. We have to close the work tomorrow, trying to bring home 25 points: those lost in Baku. But this performance is very promising, we hope to continue like this. Race? I'm confident, the car went well in free practice, so we can't wait. "We have to close the work tomorrow, trying to bring home 25 points: those lost in Baku. But this performance is very promising, we hope to continue like this. Race? I'm confident, the car went well in free practice, so we can't wait. "We have to close the work tomorrow, trying to bring home 25 points: those lost in Baku. But this performance is very promising, we hope to continue like this. Race? I'm confident, the car went well in free practice, so we can't wait. "