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This is why Leclerc is glad Sainz is not starting second in Baku
Saturday's qualifying session at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix highlighted who the team to beat is come Sunday's race, which is Ferrari. Charles Leclerc took pole position around the Baku City Circuit, with his teammate Carlos Sainz directly behind him in P3, to give the Pracing Horse a perfect opportunity to close the 39-point gap between themselves and Red Bull in the constructors' championship. It was an almost perfect Saturday session for Ferrari, but Leclerc is glad that Sainz is only starting P3 and not right beside him in P2.
With his pole position, the Monegasque driver earned his fourth in a row around the streets of Baku, showing the brilliance he has at this track. It also shows the updates that Ferrari have made to their car are working extremely effectively. The Scuderia brought updates to the Italian Grand Prix last time out, and it led to Leclerc taking a stunning win in front of the Tifosi.
However, Oscar Piastri's McLaren was able to get his McLaren onto the front row of the grid and split the two Ferraris, just getting in the way of a potential perfect session from the Italian team. But even with Sainz starting in P3, Leclerc believes it was a perfect session for the Prancing Horse, and he is glad the Spaniard won't be alongside him in P2.
Sainz P3 is the 'best Ferrari could have hoped for'
Speaking after qualifying on Saturday, Leclerc explained why he is happy Sainz will be in third instead of second on the gird: "Let's say it's the best we could have hoped for. I mean, normally, the even side of the grid has a little bit less grip, so first and third is where you want to start, and hopefully, we can play a team game tomorrow to win that race."
However, the Monegasque nows that there will still be some pressure applied by Piastri in P2, as well as Sergio Perez and George Russell in P4 and P5, respectively: "It's going to be a long race. In the past, we were very strong in qualifying but struggled a bit in the race. But this year, we have a stronger race car, so I hope that we can finally make it count tomorrow."
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