Vettel, Hamilton impressed by Leclerc's run to Q3
Formula 1 world champions Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton have hailed Charles Leclerc for his starring French Grand Prix qualifying performance.
Photo by: Manuel Goria / Motorsport Images
Leclerc made it into the final part of qualifying for the first time in his fledgling career and will start eighth, two places behind the man he could replace at Ferrari next season, Kimi Raikkonen.
Four-time champions Hamilton and Vettel have previously tipped Leclerc for great things in F1 and Paul Ricard poleman Hamilton said it was "very, very impressive" to see him make Q3.
“There’s a lot of pressure for him, being here in the south of France, so it’s really, really good," said Hamilton.
“I’m happy for him, particularly in that car, he’s done a great job with what he has – probably even more, which is what you hope from a good driver.”
Vettel added: “I saw on the screen that Fred [Vasseur, Sauber boss] was happy so I knew one of his drivers did well in Q2.
“Eighth is an impressive result, they are still quite a long way behind with the car.
“For him he’s doing the job, it’s good for him and for Sauber as well to be up there and have chance to score points.”
Leclerc is in a rich vein of form having scored points in three of the previous four grands prix.
He called his qualifying result “just unbelievable” and said it was “the best recovery” of his career from one day to the next, having finished more than a second from the top 10 in Friday practice.
“Yesterday was a disaster, the car didn’t feel great and I was not driving very well,” Leclerc told Sky Sports.
“We changed the car completely today, I felt a lot better.
“I have no words to describe how I feel right now. We all should be proud, the team and I of what we achieved.”
Sauber team principal Frederic Vasseur said it was a “huge feeling” for the team to reach Q3 for the first time since the 2015 Austrian Grand Prix.
He said Leclerc and teammate Marcus Ericsson, who made it into Q2 and qualified 15th despite having minimal track time after a fiery FP1 crash, had a “huge recovery”.
“For Charles it’s a special test because it’s the first Q3, and P8, and in France,” Vasseur told Motorsport.com. “I think it’s a great feeling for him.
“He did always the big push to get into Q2 and Q2 was not always the best lap of the weekend.
“Today he did a much better job in Q2 than before. He did a fantastic lap in Q2.”
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
The driver who can wreck F1's 2020 silly season
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Hamilton needs talk with Wolff to prepare Ferrari F1 move
Hamilton: MotoGP and F1 shared events would be “epic”
The status factor that made Ferrari impossible for Hamilton to turn down
Porsche lodges appeal over da Costa's Misano Formula E disqualification
Ricky Taylor looking for redemption at Long Beach
How Senna’s early Pacific GP exit raised his Benetton suspicions
What could have been: When Villeneuve’s shock return thwarted an F1 rookie
What's been going wrong for Leclerc in F1's tiny margins qualifying game
What the Chinese GP's highlights reveal about its first F1 race for five years
The secrets of F1 turbocharging explained
Why Alpine’s rigorous training camp yields telling insights into its juniors
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments