Leclerc scored pole under high pressure: "That made the lap even better"

Charles Leclerc had one chance to capture pole position at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya after spinning in his first run but cashed in convincingly.

His earlier mistake meant he had to set his flying lap under great pressure, but there was little sign of that pressure as he dipped more than three tenths below Max Verstappen's time. "In the end, that made the pole lap even better," he grinned to Viaplay.

"I pushed a little too much in turn fourteen, up to that point it was a very good lap," he explains of his first run. As a result, he lost the rear of his F1-75 and got into a spin, then immediately dived into the pits.

Tire management will be of great importance during the race. In that area, Red Bull Racing seemed to have an edge over Ferrari, but in FP3 the Italian racing stable seemed to have made an improvement.

"Yesterday we were struggling on the mediums, but for today we changed the car completely and it looked much stronger. The feeling is good, but we have no reference from Red Bull at all so we will see tomorrow," said Leclerc.