16 pole winner Charles Leclerc equals Michael Schumacher’s record after claiming P1 at Italian GP

Samriddhi Jaiswal | 10/09/2022
16 pole winner Charles Leclerc equals Michael Schumacher's record after claiming P1 at Italian GP

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc stormed to P1 at the Italian Grand Prix qualifying taking his eighth pole position in the 2022 season.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took pole position in qualifying at the home track of Ferrari in Italy. The P1 in Monza marks the Monegasque driver’s eighth pole position in the 2022 season.

In doing so, he has become the first Ferrari driver to win 8 pole positions in a single season since Michael Schumacher did it in 2004. Leclerc has claimed 16 pole positions in his F1 career so far.

Leclerc beat his rival and championship leader Max Verstappen by 0.145 seconds who finished in P2 followed by Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz in P3.

However, the Dutchman is facing a grid penalty for taking new engine parts and therefore will start the race on Sunday from P4.

Leclerc will share the front row with Mercedes’ George Russell, whose teammate Lewis Hamilton has also received a grid penalty and will start the race from P19.

Also Read: Helmut Marko says Max Verstappen could leave his $53.3 Million job sooner than expected

Charles Leclerc hopes to recreate his 2019 win in Monza

The Ferrari driver had claimed the second out of his five GP wins in Monza 2019. Leclerc pipped the Mercedes to take his glorious victory at the 2019 Italian GP which has become a very memorable memory for the Tifosi around the world.

With P1 in qualifying at the 2022 Italian GP, the 24-year-old admitted that he hopes to recreate the 2019 Monza win.

In the post-qualifying interviews, the Monegasque said, “The car has been feeling great all weekend and I really hope I can finish like in 2019 tomorrow.”

Speaking about his qualifying, Leclerc said that the entire session was amazing but it was not an easy one for him.

Sainz had the lead in qualifying before Leclerc snatched it from him and claimed pole position. HE revealed that he knew that there was potential in the car. In the last lap, he managed to find that extra performance from his F1-75.

Also Read: Lewis Hamilton complains he is losing 0.2 seconds at final sector in Monza

Post Edited By: Samriddhi Jaiswal
Charles Leclerc ferrari Michael Schumacher

About the author

Samriddhi Jaiswal

Samriddhi Jaiswal is an F1 editor and writer at The SportsRush. She started her career as a business journalist but soon found her calling in lights out here we go! Samriddhi has been a Ferrari fan even when her interaction with F1 was occasional. Her first real experience with the thrilling sport came when Charles Leclerc clinched his iconic victory in Spa and Monza and painted the track red. Now, a Tifosi, Samriddhi is a hardcore fan of the prancing horse and can relate to the chaos within the Italian camp and also admires Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. Off the track, she finds her home in books and musical instruments.

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