Charles Leclerc was delighted after claiming pole position at the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday.
The Ferrari driver stepped up with two brilliant laps in Q3, beating world champion Max Verstappen to score his 11th career pole.
Leclerc was particularly happy to deliver around Albert Park, where he hasn’t got the best record in his previous two visits.
“It felt good, even more, because it is a track where I have always struggled before in the past as a driver,” he explained post-session.
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“I don’t know, it probably doesn’t fit me as well and this weekend we really worked hard.
“The FP3 session was a bit messy for me, I managed to do some good laps but not everything together and in Q3 I managed to put everything together so it feels great and I’m very happy to be starting on pole tomorrow.”
Ferrari has been noticeably porpoising quite severely on the straights all weekend but it hasn’t impacted their performance in the same way as other teams.
Looking ahead to the race though, the Monegasque does feel he faces a battle on his hands to keep Verstappen and Sergio Perez behind him.
“The car is nice to drive but Red Bull were very quick in FP2 doing the long runs,” he noted.
“To be honest, we were quite surprised by our pace in qualifying, so everything is possible.
“We just need to do a good start and then hopefully we can keep that first position.”
Teammate Carlos Sainz will only start ninth on Sunday after a terrible Q3 that saw his first run ruined by a red flag just metres from the line before a problem in the garage left him “rushing” and with “freezing tyres” on his second attempt.
“He knows I am angry because we should not have the problems with the starter,” he said moments after a consoling hug from Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto.
“It is just a disaster. Today I was in a fight for pole and everything that could go wrong for me went wrong. I am not going to be happy at all, if anyone tells me to be happy, but tomorrow is another day.
“I need a sleep. Until I want to go to sleep, I will be angry.”
