Ferrari, Charles Leclerc chews bitterly but promises battle

The Monegasque was mocked by the reigning world champion

Only 21 thousandths of a second separated Max Verstappen’s best lap from Charles Leclerc’s in Q3 of the Dutch GP at Zandvoort: that was enough for the home driver to secure pole position in front of his fans, just in spite of the Monegasque.

“Too bad, I came close,” Leclerc said at the conclusion of the day dedicated to qualifying. Max did a great lap at the end and passed me by a little bit. At first I was worried, in Q1 and Q2 Red Bull was very fast on used tires, but in Q3 we managed to close the gap. Unfortunately weighs a mistake I made in turn ten, it cost me a tenth, maybe a tenth and a half.”

“What do I expect from the race? We will play a lot at the start,” Leclerc went on to explain. “But Carlos (Sainz, ed.) starts third, we are two against one. And I’m not even sure if the weather will help Red Bull: if it was cooler it would be great for us.”