Leclerc explains incident: "The rear overheated on the second lap"

Charles Leclerc has managed to find some pace in the Ferrari car that no one expected to see, claiming two pole positions in as many days, this time sealing the front spot for the Sprint later today. After the session, the Monegasque driver explained how he was eager to fight to ensure the team finds its way to the top.

"We will go for it, but we need to be realistic, we have been on the back foot in the races," Leclerc explained in the post-session interview with Naomi Schiff, "Red Bull seems to be a step ahead so let's see how it is. Hopefully, we have a good surprise."

Despite being optimistic, the Ferrari driver still explained how he wants to ensure the team is back on top, saying: "I think we improved the car a bit. We will have more of an answer today in the race of where we are. Ferrari needs to be on top, and I'll do everything to win."

Leclerc lost the rear on his final flying lap

The Monegasque driver was unable to improve upon his first time set in Q3 after colliding with a barrier, but in doing so, halted his teammate Carlos Sainz from improving his time. He explained what happened and apologised to his teammate: "With the soft, it was a little bit tricky to get into Q3. We haven't driven on these tyres since yesterday. It's not a long time ago, but the conditions are very different, so they were behaving differently.

"The rear overheated on the second lap. I tried to push a bit more to gain lap time as I was behind. I lost it in Turn 5, but it doesn't have any consequence on qualifying. I don't know about Carlos, so it's a shame if he was improving. I'm happy with the first lap, and now we have to confirm that in the race."