Leclerc will start ahead of the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez after this Saturday’s qualifying session in France, which was divided into three rounds in which five cars were eliminated in Q1 and another five in Q2 before a round of Q3 with the top 10.
Charles Leclerc benefited from being slipstreamed by teammate Carlos Sainz in Q3, as Sainz will start from the back of the grid after changing components on his power unit.
French F1 qualifying results: Leclerc overtakes Verstappen for pole
| Cla | Pilot | Chassis | Weather | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
Ferrari | 1’30.872 | |
| 2 |  Max Verstappen |
 |
Red Bull | 1’31.176 | 0.304 |
| 3 |  Sergio Pérez |
 |
Red Bull | 1’31.335 | 0.463 |
| 4 |  Lewis Hamilton |
 |
Mercedes | 1’31.765 | 0.893 |
| 5 | Lando Norris |
 |
McLaren | 1’32.032 | 1.160 |
| 6 | George Russell |
 |
Mercedes | 1’32.131 | 1.259 |
| 7 |  Fernando Alonso |
 |
Alpine | 1’32.552 | 1.680 |
| 8 |  Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
AlphaTauri | 1’32.780 | 1.908 |
| 9 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
 |
McLaren | 1’32.922 | 2.050 |
| 10 |  Esteban Ocon |
 |
Alpine | 1’33.048 | 2.176 |
| 11 |  Valtteri Bottas |
 |
Alfa Romeo | 1’33.052 | 2.180 |
| 12 |  Sebastian Vettel |
 |
Aston Martin | 1’33.276 | 2.404 |
| 13 |  Alexander Albon |
 |
williams | 1’33.307 | 2.435 |
| 14 | Pierre Gasly |
|
AlphaTauri | 1’33,439 | 2,567 |
| 15 |  Lance Stroll |
 |
Aston Martin | 1’33.439 | 2.567 |
| 16 |  Guanyu Zhou |
 |
Alfa Romeo | 1’33.674 | 2.802 |
| 17 | Mick Schumacher |
 |
Haas | 1’33.701 | 2.829 |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi |
 |
Williams | 1’33.794 | 2.922 |
| 19 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
ferrari | ||
| 20 |  Kevin Magnussen |
 |
Haas | ||
| see results | |||||
What happened in Q1 on Saturday at the French GP?
Leclerc set the pace early on with a 1m31.727s on his first lap to which Verstappen later responded with a 1m31.891s, 0.164s slower. Sainz was third, half a second behind his teammate, just ahead of Pérez.
Lost in the first round were Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), Lance Stroll (who set exactly the same time as Gasly in his Aston Martin), Guanyu Zhou (who almost ran off the track in his Alfa Romeo), Mick Schumacher (who slipped between top 10 but had his lap erased for exceeding track limits at the apex of Turn 3) and Nicholas Latifi (Williams).
French GP Q1 results: Leclerc ahead of Verstappen
| Cla | Pilot | Chassis | Weather | Difference | Interval | Km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc |
 |
Ferrari | 1’31.727 | 229.280 | ||
| 2 | Max Verstappen |
 |
Red Bull | 1’31.891 | 0.164 | 0.164 | 228.871 |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
ferrari | 1’32,297 | 0.570 | 0.406 | 227,864 |
| 4 | Sergio Pérez |
 |
Red Bull | 1’32.354 | 0.627 | 0.057 | 227.723 |
| 5 | Lando Norris |
 |
McLaren | 1’32.672 | 0.945 | 0.318 | 226.942 |
| 6 | Kevin Magnussen |
|
Haas | 1’32,756 | 1,029 | 0.084 | 226,736 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
Alpine | 1’32.819 | 1.092 | 0.063 | 226.582 |
| 8 | Valtteri Bottas |
 |
Alfa Romeo | 1’33.034 | 1.307 | 0.215 | 226.059 |
| 9 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
Mercedes | 1’33.041 | 1.314 | 0.007 | 226.042 |
| 10 | George Russell |
 |
Mercedes | 1’33.109 | 1.382 | 0.068 | 225.877 |
| 11 | Sebastian Vettel |
 |
Aston Martin | 1’33.285 | 1.558 | 0.176 | 225.451 |
| 12 | Esteban Ocon |
 |
Alpine | 1’33.346 | 1.619 | 0.061 | 225.303 |
| 13 | Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
AlphaTauri | 1’33.394 | 1.667 | 0.048 | 225.187 |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo |
 |
McLaren | 1’33.404 | 1.677 | 0.010 | 225.163 |
| 15 | Alexander Albon |
 |
williams | 1’33.423 | 1.696 | 0.019 | 225.118 |
| 16 | Pierre Gasly |
 |
AlphaTauri | 1’33,439 | 1,712 | 0.016 | 225,079 |
| 17 | Lance Stroll |
 |
Aston Martin | 1’33.439 | 1.712 | 0.000 | 225.079 |
| 18 | Guanyu Zhou |
|
Alfa Romeo | 1’33.674 | 1.947 | 0.235 | 224.514 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher |
 |
Haas | 1’33.701 | 1.974 | 0.027 | 224.450 |
| 20 | Nicholas Latifi |
|
Williams | 1’33.794 | 2.067 | 0.093 | 224.227 |
| see results | |||||||
What happened in Q2 on Saturday at the French GP?
Leclerc set the bar at a 1:32.587 that the two Red Bulls were able to beat: Pérez set a 1:32.120 and Verstappen a 1:31.990.
Sainz then knocked everyone out for almost a second, posting an impressive time of 1m31.081s when the track was less windy. Leclerc improved again and came within 0.135s of his team-mate to give Ferrari a one-two in Q2.
Eliminated in that round of Q2 were Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) and Alexander Albon (Williams).
French GP Q2 results: Sainz flies and leads
| Cla | Pilot | Chassis | Weather | Difference | Interval | Km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
ferrari | 1’31,081 | 230,906 | ||
| 2 | Charles Leclerc |
 |
Ferrari | 1’31.216 | 0.135 | 0.135 | 230.564 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen |
 |
Red Bull | 1’31.990 | 0.909 | 0.774 | 228.624 |
| 4 | Sergio Pérez |
 |
Red Bull | 1’32.120 | 1.039 | 0.130 | 228.302 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
Mercedes | 1’32.274 | 1.193 | 0.154 | 227.921 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso |
|
Alpine | 1’32.631 | 1.550 | 0.357 | 227.042 |
| 7 | George Russell |
|
Mercedes | 1’32.633 | 1.552 | 0.002 | 227.037 |
| 8 | Kevin Magnussen |
|
Haas | 1’32,649 | 1,568 | 0.016 | 226,998 |
| 9 | Lando Norris |
 |
McLaren | 1’32.777 | 1.696 | 0.128 | 226.685 |
| Ten | Yuki Tsunoda |
|
AlphaTauri | 1’32.836 | 1.755 | 0.059 | 226.541 |
| 11 | Daniel Ricciardo |
|
McLaren | 1’32.922 | 1.841 | 0.086 | 226.331 |
| 12 | Esteban Ocon |
 |
Alpine | 1’33.048 | 1.967 | 0.126 | 226.025 |
| 13 | Valtteri Bottas |
 |
Alfa Romeo | 1’33.052 | 1.971 | 0.004 | 226.015 |
| 14 | Sebastian Vettel |
 |
Aston Martin | 1’33.276 | 2.195 | 0.224 | 225.472 |
| 15 | Alexander Albon |
 |
williams | 1’33.307 | 2.226 | 0.031 | 225.397 |
| see results | |||||||
What happened in Q3 on Saturday at the French GP?
In the first runs, Sainz gave Leclerc a slipstream in the second part of the Recta Mistral and in the curves of Signes , which gave the Monegasque a 1:31.209. Verstappen lapped in 1:31.217, 8 thousandths behind his rival, with Pérez in third position thanks to a 1:31.640.
In the final runs, Leclerc enjoyed another slipstream from Sainz, this time posting a 1m30.872s. Verstappen could only lap in 1:31.176, three tenths slower.
Pérez will start third, ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris (McLaren) and George Russell (Mercedes). Fernando Alonso will start seventh with Alpine ahead of Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri). Neither Sainz nor Kevin Magnussen (Haas) set the time, but both will drop to the back of the grid due to power unit change penalties and will start 19th and 20th respectively.
French GP Q2 results: Leclerc on pole with Sainz slipstream
| Cla | Pilot | Chassis | Weather | Difference | Interval | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc |
|
Ferrari | 1’30.872 | ||
| 2 | Max Verstappen |
|
Red Bull | 1’31.176 | 0.304 | 0.304 |
| 3 | Sergio Pérez |
 |
Red Bull | 1’31.335 | 0.463 | 0.159 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
Mercedes | 1’31.765 | 0.893 | 0.430 |
| 5 | Lando Norris |
|
McLaren | 1’32.032 | 1.160 | 0.267 |
| 6 | George Russell |
 |
Mercedes | 1’32.131 | 1.259 | 0.099 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso |
|
Alpine | 1’32.552 | 1.680 | 0.421 |
| 8 | Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
AlphaTauri | 1’32.780 | 1.908 | 0.228 |
| 9 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
|
ferrari | |||
| 10 | Kevin Magnussen |
 |
Haas | |||
| see results | ||||||
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