Leclerc says losing time in final sector cost him pole

Charles Leclerc just fell short of snatching pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix away from his Red Bull rival Max Verstappen at the climax of Saturday's qualifying.

Leclerc ended up exactly one hundredth of a second behind Verstappen after his final run, despite Verstappen failing to improve on his initial run after a scrappy conclusion to his session.

"It's a very tricky lap around here because whenever you are fast in the first sector you lose out in the final sector," Leclerc told the media in parc ferme afterwards.

• Read also: Verstappen sets sights on title with Suzuka pole

"The car felt good and it’s always great to drive on this track, especially in the first sector because it has so much grip," he explained. "It’s a very fast lap, but the more you push in the first sector the slower you are in the last due to the tyres overheating.

"I tried to find that balance in the last lap," he continued. "But I lost the tyres a little bit in the last sector and lost a little bit of time.

"It's so close with everyone, though, so that's nice. We will try and have a good race from there."

"We missed pole position by just one hundredth of a second with Charles and half a tenth with Carlos," picked up Ferrari racing director Laurent Mekies. "It’s a shame as we know on this track pole is very important.

"However there were still a lot of positives for us today, as our car was very competitive with both drivers. Together with Max, they were in a league of their own on a track featuring all types of corners. That says a lot about the quality of their cars."

Leclerc pointed out that that everyone was suffering from Friday's wet conditions that had precluded anyone running on slick tyres, leaving all the worthwhile preparation squeezed into this morning's dry final practice.

"We have a very limited amount of data going into the race so that's always a challenge," he said. "But the feeling was good with the car."

Leclerc's best hope of beating Verstappen and staying in the title race may lie in the chance of more rain on Sunday afternoon - which could very easily happen, according to the meteorological forecasts for the area.

"Let's wait and see for the conditions. It seems as though it's going to rain a little during the race," he said. "I think it will be an interesting race.

"It will be a challenge for everyone to make the right calls with unpredictable weather ahead," he predicted. "It should be a fun race and hopefully we can give a good show."

His team mate Carlos Sainz, who will be starting just behind from third place on the grid, had a similar expectation. "We don’t know what the weather will be like, but we are aiming to get both cars up there again.

"The rain is going to arrive," stated the Spaniard. "I don't know if it's going to arrive at two o'clock, three or four, which is after the race, so there are plenty of things that could happen tomorrow.

"We’ll give everything until the chequered flag!" he added.

"Tomorrow it’s going to be a very long race with many aspects playing their part, starting with the weather, added Mekies. "Tonight we will analyse all the data and prepare for every possible scenario.

"Max will be as usual super fast, but we will do our best to try and battle with him right from the first lap."

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