Leclerc experiences exciting qualifying: "Max was just a little bit faster"

In the final seconds of qualifying in Austria, Charles Leclerc looked set to take pole position, but Max Verstappen dived below his time despite a less than perfect lap. The Ferrari driver is hoping for a trouble-free sprint race, after having less luck several weekends in a row.

Leclerc hopes for trouble-free weekend

"All three of us were very close to each other," commented Leclerc after qualifying. The top three, consisting of Verstappen, Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, finished within a tenth of a second. "On the last lap I struggled a little bit bringing the tyres back after such a long time in the pits, but Max was just a little bit faster, so my congratulations to him," acknowledges the Monegasque, who expects an exciting sprint race on Saturday.

Above all, however, the Ferrari driver is hoping for a trouble-free weekend. "I just want to drive a clean race. There have been five races that have been a bit of a disaster for my side, so I just hope that everything goes well and that we can finally score the points we deserve," Leclerc said.