Leclerc: We performed better than our expectations

Charles Leclerc qualified second in Spa, but will start from pole after Verstappen’s penalty, just like last year.

His Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz set the eighth fastest time and was unhappy with this result.

Charles Leclerc (2nd): “The result is exactly the same as last year, but this weekend I didn’t expect it. It’s clear that in difficult conditions we performed better than we expected.

A good day for the team, now we have to focus on tomorrow and see what happens when the rain stops.

On a dry track we would probably have fought with Mercedes for fifth place, but the rain helped a bit and I can’t complain. I’m very happy with my lap in the last session and happy to be back on the front row. Now we have to bring it to a close.

“Keeping pole position is not easy on this circuit, but we will see. Every start is different, and when I get in the car tomorrow I will understand how to act best. Of course I will try to keep first place.”

Carlos Sainz (8th): “I can’t be happy with this result. I was fast all the way through qualifying, but in the final I couldn’t get the most out of the last set of tyres.

Right after the first corner the grip of the tyres was lower than in previous attempts, which caused me problems for the whole lap. I need to understand what exactly I did differently that caused the grip to decrease.

Tomorrow there will be an open battle in the race. The goal is to gain ground and compete at the front. It is difficult to predict what conditions await us in the race, but I am sure there will be opportunities to bounce back.”