Leclerc could have beaten Verstappen: 'Bit disappointed, yes'

Charles Leclerc could have conquered pole position in Bahrain and so the Ferrari driver is feeling a little bitter. Indeed, the 26-year-old driver drove a faster time in Q2 than Max Verstappen did in the decisive Q3. Leclerc balks

"I’m a bit disappointed, but yeah, we did a good qualifying," said Leclerc after finishing second in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix. "It’s been a tricky weekend until now. We were trying quite a few things in practice and then I found the sweet spot in qualifying."

The Monegasque driver continued: "Q1 was a bit tricky. Unfortunately we put on two new sets of softs, which compromised a little bit the Q3, but all in all it’s quite a good qualifying, a good start of the year. We are in a better place compared to a year ago, so that is good. Now we have to see the race pace tomorrow."

"In Q2 I think I did a 29.1 which was more or less the lap time that Max did in Q3, so it was there in the car. I think we lost a little bit the rhythm with the used set of C3 in Q3, then you have to readapt to the new tyres and I lost a little bit there, but all in all it’s been a positive qualifying," Leclerc continued.

"I’m confident we did a step forward but we have to wait and see tomorrow how much of a step forward we did. We really think that Red Bull is still ahead by quite a bit, in the race I mean. So we’ll see, but if there’s an opportunity as always I’ll go for it, and we’ll see what happens tomorrow."