Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc admitted that he would be happy to see teammate Carlos Sainz get his first F1 win in Silverstone.
Sainz earned his first ever pole position on Saturday ahead of the British GP. He managed to keep his cool under wet conditions, and put in a better final lap than Leclerc or Max Verstappen did. He will start Sunday’s race on the front row, alongside the Red Bull driver.
Sainz hasn’t won an F1 race up until now. Starting Sunday’s race from P1 will present the Spaniard with an incredible opportunity to get a good start, and go for the win.
Leclerc, who will start from third on the grid admitted that he wasn’t happy with his Q3 performance. Nevertheless, he insisted that he would be really happy if Sainz got the win in Silverstone.
“I would be very happy if Carlos wins the race tomorrow,” Leclerc said. “But I’m not going to hide that I want to win too. But I think what is most important is that we finish one-two whatever way round it is.”
Charles Leclerc spinning in Q3 cost Max Verstappen pole position
Leclerc was on a good lap during his final Q3 run, but a spin spoiled it for him. The conditions were not easy, and even Verstappen suffered because of the Ferrari drivers’ spin.
This is according to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. The 48-year old believes that Leclerc’s half-spin which brought out the yellow flag, forced his ace driver to lift off, costing him valuable time.
“Yeah, I mean, Charles had like a half spin,” Horner said to Sky Sports. “Max lifted for the yellow flags and I think he gave up about three or four tenths for it.”
“But congratulations to Carlos, he’s always been a demon in the wet when he was a junior for us. He was always very strong in these kinds of conditions. So congrats to him, and just pleased to be on the front row with Checo up there on the second row as well.”
The battle for the win in Silverstone is expected to be between the Ferrari and Red Bull drivers once again. Leclerc, who was leading Verstappen by 46 points at one stage in the season, now trails by 49. Even if Sainz wins the race, the Monegasque will be hoping to finish ahead of Verstappen, in order to cut the gap between the two.
