"I'm only happy when I'm first" : Charles Leclerc

STYRIA [Austria]: Scuderia Ferrari F1 team driver Charles Leclerc came up with a splendid performance in the Qualifying race on Friday ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday. Leclerc finished in the second position by just 0.048s behind leader Max Verstappen. After the race, he said he is only happy when he comes first.

Ferrari has been performing well since they have installed upgrades to their cars. Those changes to the floor and front wing looked to have paid dividends, with Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz claiming P2 and P3 respectively in Friday's qualifying. However, Leclerc finished in the second position by just 0.048 seconds behind Max Verstappen.

Both the drivers will be looking to get a good finish in the race on Sunday. Leclerc said, "I'm never happy when I'm second, I'm only happy when I'm first. Today we missed pole position by very little, but to be honest, we also need to be realistic and looking at our season, this is probably the best qualifying we've had, apart from Baku of course where we were ahead of everyone."

The Ferrari racer added, "The team has done an incredible job trying to bring these upgrades as early as possible into the season and I think this has helped us so far. Now we need to confirm that in the race. But it's bittersweet: we're very close to Max but just not enough, which is frustrating." Leclerc's teammate Carlos Sainz, who finished third, also showed positive intent in the qualifying race.

Sainz said, "I actually had to run again when I was okay with track limits, but we played it safe, we used an extra set, which maybe threw me off a bit and it was not ideal."

He added, "But overall I was feeling strong with the car, fast all day, which was a good carry-over from Canada and now we can focus on putting another strong day together tomorrow. But at least for Sunday, P3, I think it's a good place to start."