French Grand Prix Qualifying Recap
Charles Leclerc, the Monegasque Ferrari driver, clinched pole position at the Paul Ricard circuit and will lead the starting grid for Sunday’s French Grand Prix, the twelfth round of the Formula One World Championship. Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez, joined by Fernando Alonso in seventh, form part of the front-end battle that defines the weekend at Le Castellet.
With a best lap of 1:30.872 in Q3, Leclerc topped the times ahead of a challenge from the field, though Carlos Sainz was unable to place his name on the pole due to a grid sanction after he fitted a new power unit to his car. The sanction altered the order among the frontline contenders and opened the door for others to chase a breakthrough lap.
Verstappen will start from the front row after a tense performance, finishing just shy of Leclerc by three-tenths of a second with a 1:31.176. Pérez sits third on the grid with a 1:31.335 lap time. Lando Norris secured fifth place in a late surge, while Alonso line-up seventh, posting 1:31.552 in Q3. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell occupy the following spots as the session progressed amid an intense showdown for the top positions on a warm track surface.
The session saw notable drama as Kevin Magnussen received penalties for power unit changes, which impacted his position in the standings and the final grid. The Haas driver finished the weekend with the best time in the early runs, but the penalties reshaped the later outcomes. Sainz’s second-quarter performance is particularly remembered for its pace, even as he could not claim pole.
The Austrian team, enduring a challenging weekend, watched Ferrari consistently lead the way in qualifying, with Red Bull appearing sharp but unable to convert every fast lap into pole. It was clear that the paul ricard circuit offered true one-lap potential, especially on the soft compounds, and the two Red Bull cars will attempt to rebound in the race behind Leclerc on Sunday.
Hamilton, looking strong across the track, finished with a lap time close to his rival’s pace, while Russell posted two results around 1:31.7 and 1:32.1 in the two attempts that mattered most for the final grid. Norris benefited from a window between the Mercedes duo to slot into third, delivering a crucial late effort that shaped his qualifying position for Sunday’s race.
Alonso, who had been a strong contender, slipped to seventh as the session concluded, posting 1:32.552. Esteban Ocon, the local favorite, ended up twelfth with a lap of 1:33.048 after a challenging Q2. In a notable development for the junior categories, Yuki Tsunoda showed solid progress but remained eighth, while Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri faced a Q1 exit amidst the heat and fragility of the mid-session adjustments on the cars.
The day’s heat reached up to 53 degrees on the track during Q3, underscoring the demanding conditions teams faced as they prepared for Sunday’s race. The Montreal-tuned AlphaTauri operation demonstrated significant improvement across practice and qualifying sessions, signaling a potential challenge to the top teams in the race itself.
French GP schedule
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Sunday, July 24:
Race start: 15:00 CET (57 laps)
Where to watch the French Formula 1 GP
Sunday’s race can be watched live on DAZN and this newspaper’s platform. Movistar+ may also offer Formula 1 coverage on its channels, with DAZN F1 available on dial 58.