LE CASTELLET, France: Carlos Sainz was frustrated, but happy on Saturday after providing a critical tow to enable Charles Leclerc to slipstream him and take pole position for Ferrari at the French Grand Prix.
In a perfect display of racing teamwork, the Spanish driver, who will start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid, drove to help Leclerc find extra pace on the long back straight.
Leclerc gained two-tenths of a second and used the advantage to outpace world champion and series leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull by three-tenths to take his seventh pole position this year and 16th of his career.
Sainz, who was quickest in Friday practice, was handed grid penalties after Ferrari fitted a number of new engine parts to his car.
He will start at the back alongside Haas’s Kevin Magnussen, penalized for the same reason.
“I’ve been very quick here all weekend, so I feel a sense of a bit of frustration personally,” said Sainz.
“But I am happy that Charles has pole position. He will have to fight with Max at the start, but I believe he can do it — it’s all about nailing the start.
“Today shows that we are a very solid team. There is a good atmosphere in our team and we are all willing to help each other.”
Leclerc, bidding to deliver Ferrari’s third successive win and cut Verstappen’s 38-point lead in the title race, heaped praise on his team-mate.
“He did the perfect job and his tow helped me a lot — I gained two-tenths there on that straight so in the final sector I had a great mindset. It was a great job by Carlos,” he said.
Leclerc said he expected a ferocious and close fight with Verstappen in Sunday’s race as the two title protagonists line up on the front row for the sixth time this year.
“We have higher downforce and that may be good for tire management, but they are very quick on the straights and it is very difficult to follow here,” said Leclerc.
“Two different approaches. Only time will tell. Let’s see which compromise works the best tomorrow.”
Verstappen said he understood why Ferrari had opted to use Sainz as a slip-streaming aid for Leclerc.
“We didn’t have a penalty so that’s why we didn’t do it,” he said.
“It is a different situation for us and I can see why they did it.
“We are faster on the straights so it will be interesting tomorrow to see which is the fastest philosophy, but here it is all about the tires and looking after them.”
Carlos Sainz happy to give Charles Leclerc slipstream to French Grand Prix pole
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Carlos Sainz happy to give Charles Leclerc slipstream to French Grand Prix pole
- Leclerc gained two-tenths of a second and used the advantage to outpace world champion and series leader Max Verstappen
Al-Ahli confirm Asian Champions League Elite progress with emphatic 5-0 win over Al-Shorta
- Al-Ahli are joined in the next round by Tractor, who claimed a 2-1 win over Qatar’s Al-Duhail through a late goal by Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh
- The first eight finishers in the league phases in east and west Asia advance to the round of 16, which will be played in March, with the quarterfinals, semifinals and final in Saudi Arabia in April
BAGHDAD: Defending champions Al-Ahli cruised to a 5-0 win over Al-Shorta in Baghdad on Monday as the Saudi Pro League side confirmed their progress to the knockout rounds of the Asian Champions League Elite alongside Iran’s Tractor FC.
Goals from Roger Ibanez, Ivan Toney, Galeno, Saleh Abu Al-Shamat and Ziyad Al-Johani sealed a comfortable win for Matthias Jaissle’s side, who moved on to 13 points from six matches to guarantee a top-eight finish in the 12-team standings.
“We did well today and we go home with three points,” Ibanez said. “That’s the important part.”
Ibanez gave Al-Ahli the lead when he converted Toney’s cut-back in the 30th minute and the former Brentford striker doubled the lead when he raced onto a pass through the middle by Galeno soon after the restart.
Galeno converted from a tight angle and Al-Shamat and Al-Johani netted in the closing stages as Al-Ahli bounced back from a surprise loss to Sharjah FC last month.
Al-Ahli are joined in the next round by Tractor, who claimed a 2-1 win over Qatar’s Al-Duhail through a late goal by Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh.
Benjamin Bourigeaud had given Al-Duhail a 35th-minute lead from the penalty spot but Shojae Khalilzadeh levelled the scores and Hosseinzadeh hit the winner two minutes into stoppage time.
Tractor moved on to 14 points and second in the table behind Al-Hilal who recorded a sixth consecutive win in the competition with a 1-0 victory over Sharjah in the UAE.
Simone Inzaghi’s side had already confirmed their place in the next phase and picked up another three points when Malcom struck with nine minutes remaining.
Al-Gharafa kept their qualification hopes alive through a 1-0 win over Al-Wahda from the UAE with Seydou Sano scoring an 87th-minute winner for the Qatari side.
Al-Gharafa climbed to six points and ninth in the table while Al-Wahda, who have qualified, dropped to fourth.
The first eight finishers in the league phases in east and west Asia advance to the round of 16, which will be played in March, with the quarteRfinals, semifinals and final in Saudi Arabia in April.
