Formula 1

MAX SAILS TO VICTORY IN THE SPRINT RACE, LCH STICKS AROUND FOR P2, LECLERC PUTS THE FERRARI IN THIRD.

MAX: “We had a strong day out there today. It was quite tight at the start with Charles but after that we could focus on our own race. The pace of the car was really good, a bit better than we expected, we looked after our tyres quite well.

Starting in P6 tomorrow will be interesting, we’ll try and stay out of trouble on the first lap and then we’ll take it step by step making our way through the field. Hopefully we can have some fun out there tomorrow.”

LCH: That was a fun race! I made a good start into turn one and had a really good battle with Charles (Leclerc). Running in second, I was then focused on trying to get closer to Max (Verstappen) in those early stages. Their pace at the moment is undeniable though so I wasn’t able to get close enough to challenge him. We’ve still got a long way to go to equal the pace he showed throughout the Sprint. Nonetheless, I’m really happy to be back on the podium.

Starting ahead of Max tomorrow is helpful. Ultimately, I think he will be breathing down our necks before too long given the pace that he had today. I think that will open up a good fight though between ourselves, the Ferraris and the McLarens. We’re all quite similar in pace this weekend by the looks of it so I hope we get to have a good battle tomorrow. Keeping Max behind would be awesome but if not, we’ll do everything we can to finish on the podium and bring home good points.

CHARLES:“I mean, at the end we have quite a lot of data to analyse, having two cars on two different strategies,” the Monegasque – who will start from pole position on Sunday – explained. “I think this will be a bit of a help for us because we know how the softs are behaving for tomorrow. I hope we can take advantage of that and hopefully we can win tomorrow.”