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“Then in FP2 we had a problem on a new part we brought on the car and there was something wrong there, so we lost another half an hour, and it’s laps that you don’t really recover, so I was a bit… not worried, but I knew that we had to make up some time.
“The pace was always there and then in qualifying and Q3 it was all about trying to stay as far as possible off the walls. In that last lap I went for it a bit more and the lap time came very nicely. The car felt really good and everything felt great, so it’s amazing to be on pole.”
AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Asked about the strategic benefit of having two Ferraris at the front of the field, Leclerc added: “Let’s say it was the best we could’ve hoped for. Normally the even side of the grid has a little bit less grip, so first and third is where you want to start.
“Hopefully we can play a team game tomorrow to win that race, but it’s going to be a long race. In the past we’ve been very strong in qualifying, struggling a bit in the race. This year we have a stronger race car so I hope that we can finally make it tomorrow.”
Sainz offered a similar assessment to his team mate as Ferrari attempt to take advantage of a Q1 exit for Lando Norris – as well as P4 and P6 starts for Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen – to close on McLaren and Red Bull in the constructors’ standings.
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