Austrian GP | Post qualifying press conference report
Second pole position for Charles Leclerc, as the Ferrari driver will start tomorrow in front of Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes and Max Verstappen from home-team Red Bull.
It has been a great qualifying session in Austria, with three drivers on top from three different teams. Pole sitter was Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, at his second pole position in nine races for the Scuderia. The Monegasque is setting the bar for tomorrow, as he's been constantly fastest on track since yesterday afternoon. Could Ferrari be back to victory after Kimi Raikkonen's last win in Austin last year?
Leclerc's thought about today's qualifying: "I’m happy. I have been competitive since FP2 but it’s always difficult to do a lap when you need it in Q3 and we did so. I’m very happy with the car in the first run in Q3. I knew it would have been a compromise for third first sector but actually it was not that bad and then I improved in third sector which was nice to see. I’m very happy for the team for the pole position but it’s just a shame for Seb, the two cars should be closer to first and second. It’s a shame for the team but anyway I’m happy for my own performance."
Speaking about tomorrow, things wouldn't even harder, as strategy will be very important since the start of the race. "On Friday the pace didn’t look bad compared to Mercedes but also Red Bull. Yes, we are pretty happy, I think we are quite competitive this weekend. I think the start will be very important and the long straight after, but normally we are quite fast in the straight. So I will try to keep the position in the first three corners, but the pace itself looks promising", Leclerc added.
LECLERC: "It's a big pleasure to drive this car on the limit. I'm very happy to bring pole position back home. Tomorrow will be very difficult physically and for the car"#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/gauCELjp8X
— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 giugno 2019
Lewis Hamilton knew it was hard to fight Ferrari today, mostly due to their top speeds in long straights: “Congratulations to Charles, he did great job all the weekend. We thought to be a bit closer than it was. The car was pretty good, can’t do much on straights. I don’t know why we lose much time on straights. The last part was really difficult.” About the investigation about his misunderstanding with Raikkonen during Q1: “Basically I saw one of the teams car came by and I was braking for turn 3, so when I saw another car coming I just try to go straight on to get out the way. Not easy.”
HAMILTON: "Congratulations to Charles, he's been quick all weekend and we've just not really been able to keep up with him. I've got to fight the young'uns!"#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/VVr3RiuaQ7
— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 giugno 2019
Max Verstappen: "I think just in general all weekend the performance has been a lot better. It was gonna be hard but actually with new updates in the car we gain a bit of performance. I was really happy with the car in qualifying, in the corner we are really competitive. We are lacking a bit of pace to Ferrari and Mercedes in the straight. We know this is not a great track for us, so this is a good result for us." About the huge amount of support he is receiving from the fans this weekend: “It’s the Dutch ways of support! It’s good, it gave me a big smile on my face of course. I can’t wait for tomorrow.”
VERSTAPPEN: "With the upgrades the car seems to be working better. Hopefully I can give the fans a great result tomorrow"#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/0BaSLPMMoL
— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 giugno 2019
