Leclerc says change of approach was key to Austrian GP pole

Charles Leclerc believes changing his approach to qualifying paid off as he claimed pole position for Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver converted his promising pace throughout the weekend into qualifying as he stormed to the fastest time by 0.259s over Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to seal his second career pole.

Leclerc admitted at last weekend’s French Grand Prix that he had altered his approach to qualifying following notable errors in Azerbaijan and Monaco, and he reckons the work he has done was reflected in Spielberg.

“I changed a little bit the approach from Paul Ricard, and I really felt I did a step forward,” Leclerc explained.

“Then Austria is also my favourite track, so it might fit a little bit better my driving style. Overall since Paul Ricard, I did a step forward, and I could feel it in the car, so I’m happy with this. That’s it.

“It’s just to be a little bit more step-by-step during the qualifying sessions. I probably over-pushed [before].

“And then on the setup side, I anticipated the track evolution which is quite a big factor now in Formula 1. So just these two [factors], and I certainly found quite a bit of time.”

“Obviously I’m extremely happy,” he added. "We have been competitive since FP2, but it’s always difficult to do the lap when you need to in Q3, and we did, so I’m very happy.

“We changed a bit the car to the first run in Q3. I knew it would be a compromise maybe for the first sector, but actually, it wasn’t that bad, and I made up time in the third sector which was nice to see.

“I’m very happy for the team for the pole position. It’s just a shame for Seb, as I think probably the two cars should be closer to first and second. It’s a bit of a shame for the team, but very happy anyway of my own performance.”

And Leclerc insisted he has no concerns about Ferrari’s decision to run the Soft tyre during Q2, meaning both drivers will start the race on Pirelli’s softest compound, while rivals Mercedes and Red Bull opted for Mediums.

“We did some analysis after FP2, like every team does, after the race simulation, and the Soft looked pretty good so we are pretty happy with our strategy,” Leclerc said.

“It’s definitely different than Red Bull and Mercedes, but only tomorrow will tell who was right in that choice. But I’m happy with it.”