Leclerc hopes for 'a good surprise' from Ferrari on race day

Charles Leclerc will start tomorrow's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from the front row, lining up alongside Max Verstappen for the second week in succession, but he was disappointed by the gap between Ferrari and the Red Bull.

Leclerc just pipped Sergio Perez to P2 with an improved lap that came in the closing seconds of qualifying, but remained over three tenths slower than Verstappen managed in Q3.

"I’m not fully satisfied with qualifying today and we will work on understanding the feeling I had during the sessions to be able to get all the potential out of the car in the future," he said.

Leclerc explained his late boost in pace by saying that the team had tried an unconventional double warm-up approach to tyre warming at the start of the final round which hadn't really delivered.

“The first lap in Q3, we tried something different doing a preparation lap, but that didn’t work out well for us,” Leclerc said. “Then in the second lap I put everything together.

• Read also: Verstappen sweeps Jeddah qualifying for pole

"That was what was in the car today, so I’m really happy with the lap," he insisted. “For sure we did a step forward compared to last year.

“I feel more comfortable in the car," he continued. "[However] it's a shame that we are a bit further away than what we hoped in qualifying.

"But tomorrow’s the race and I hope we’ll have a good surprise and that we’ll be able to challenge the Red Bulls in front," he added.

Asked if he felt that Ferrari could challenge Verstappen and Perez for victory in Saturday's race, Leclerc was realistic as to their prospects.

"“I think the car is in a better place in race runs, so we just have to focus on ourselves," he said. "We can't change the car now for tomorrow, so we’ll try and optimise everything else for the race and then let’s see what’s possible."

Leclerc will be without his regular team mate on the grid tomorrow, after Carlos Sainz was diagnosed with appendicitis having been feeling unwell all week and missing media duties on Wednesday.

"I wish Carlos all the best for a speedy recovery," said Leclerc, who praised the efforts of reserve driver Oliver Bearman who stepped in as a replacement just before final practice.

"Ollie is extremely talented and he showed it today on his first F1 qualifying," he said. "He's done a lot of sim work which makes me happy to see that the prep he did back at the factory paid off

"He was well prepared and extremely impressive today. I think between the two of us, we can bring home plenty of points tomorrow."

Sainz underwent surgery on Friday morning and was reported to be recovering well in a local hospital. "I hope that he will be back soon,” Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur told Sky Sports F1. “It’s a tough moment.

“[We found out] on Thursday morning that he doesn’t feel very well,” Vasseur explained. “At the beginning we were thinking about a food issue. This morning it was even worse. He went to the hospital, and it was quite obvious."

As for the team's prospects in Saturday's race, Vasseur concurred with Leclerc's analysis that Max Verstappen was "a bit too far away for us" based on qualifying pace and long distance runs in practice.

"Charles’ last attempt was very good and so he was able to secure P2 once again on the front row, even if Max did a fantastic job at the beginning of Q3," he admitted.

"Now we have to focus on the race: we had good pace yesterday, so we need to have a good strategy and a clean race," he added. "I’m also pleased with Oliver, as it was not an easy day for him

"Even though he had so many things to manage he was not particularly nervous and it was an unforgettable experience for him," he said. "Let’s see what he can achieve tomorrow."

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