The slipstreaming tactics Ferrari used to help Charles Leclerc claim pole position for the French Grand Prix were “smart”, said his rival Max Verstappen.
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With Carlos Sainz Jnr set to start from the back of the grid after taking a power unit components penalty, Ferrari positioned Sainz to give his team mate a tow down the run towards the high-speed Beausset right-hander.
Verstappen said Red Bull did not mirror the tactic because both he and team mate Sergio Perez were competing for pole and could not afford to sacrifice track position for a tow.
“We are both, of course, trying to get the best possible qualifying result,” Verstappen explained. “It’s a bit different for Carlos starting in the back.
“So I think it was a smart thing to do and probably if one of us had to start in the back, something similar can happen as well.”
Sainz positioned himself perfectly to offer Leclerc the slipstream and then moved aside at the final moment to let his team mate carry the speed through the corner.
“It’s all in the trust at the end,” Leclerc said. “I knew that Carlos was going to eventually get out the way at one point. I just didn’t know when. But Carlos judged it perfectly and got out the right way at the right moment.”
Leclerc edged Verstappen to pole by three-tenths of a second. He estimated the slipstream gave him roughly two-tenths of a second compared with his Q2 lap without a tow, so while it was a meaningful advantage it was not the sole reason for his top spot.
“I think it’s [worth] around two-tenths, of what I remember in the car compared to the lap of Q2 without the tow,” Leclerc said. “So it’s significant, it would have been a lot more tight with Max without the tow. But it was a nice help anyway.”
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