After finishing third fastest in first practice session at Zandvoort and fastest of all in the afternoon session, with team mate Carlos Sainz right behind him for a great and unexpected Ferrari one-two, Charles Leclerc hopes that the Maranello team will indeed be able to challenge Mercedes and Red Bull in the qualifying session on Saturday.
Charles Leclerc topped FP2 for the Dutch Grand Prix amid a brace of red flags, and – after he took shock pole positions this season on the streets of Monte Calor and Baku, Charles was inevitable asked about the possibility of getting a third pole of the year tomorrow:
“I really hope so. It is a track where risk rewards you, so in qualifying everything is possible. We’ll give our best, with Carlos we are pushing each other after every session, so hopefully we can benefit from that in quali. It feels amazing,” he added after turning his first laps of the redeveloped Zandvoort circuit. “I mean, those [banked corners] are just incredible to drive with the Formula 1 cars and the grip we have now is just crazy and we are quick for a first day. For now, all good but we need to keep working because I’m pretty sure the others have some more pace to come for tomorrow.” – the Monegasque driver explained.
Despite the fact that Carlos Sainz, fourth in FP1 and second in FP2, confirmed Ferrari’s pace from Friday practice was real, the Spanish driver warned fans not to expect a repeat of Monaco qualifying where Charles Leclerc took pole and the Spaniard took fourth on the grid before scoring a podium on Sunday.
“We are going to try [for pole], definitely, but I wouldn’t expect a Monaco here” – Carlos admitted – “We’ve seen in the long runs that the Merc and the Red Bull are quicker but we want to be right behind them if we can, especially because we feel a bit closer than in previous weekends and we want to maximise every opportunity that they give us, if they do a mistake…” – he added.
Carlos Sainz also pointed out that Ferrari’s short-run pace may prove competitive but admitted that other drivers including Max Verstappen didn’t have the chance to put in a representative flying lap in the second free practice session as a result of several red flags.
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