Charles Leclerc made driving style more ‘precise’ to secure Australian Grand Prix pole

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc says he made some changes at a track where he has “struggled” previously

Charles Leclerc took his second pole position of 2022 in Australia. (Getty Images)

Charles Leclerc took the 11th pole position of his Formula 1 career in Melbourne on Saturday morning, and says he has worked hard to make his driving style more precise ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.

The Monegasque delivered an excellent lap at the end of Q3 to top the timesheets in his Ferrari ahead of the Red Bull pair of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, as he looks to extend the world championship lead he has built up at the first two rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Just under three tenths separated Leclerc and Verstappen once the chequered flag was waved, though Red Bull will have a strategic advantage in the race with two cars just behind Leclerc, while the second Ferrari will start a lowly ninth after Carlos Sainz endured a difficult afternoon.

Leclerc has raced twice before at the Albert Park track, finishing 13th in 2018 and fifth in 2019, with this the first race to take place in Australia since then due to Covid-19 protocols.

The 24-year-old says that the circuit does not naturally suit his driving style, and that he has to alter his usual approach to become more “precise” in qualifying.

“The car felt very good,” he told Sky Sports F1. “Overall I’m very happy because I’ve always struggled here in the past and maybe you can’t see from outside because we look fast on track, but I’ve struggled this weekend with a lot of mistakes and being inconsistent.

“I’ve really worked on that and tried to put a good lap together, and I did it in Q3. For me personally [the difficulty of the Albert Park circuit] is the nature of the corners, where the turning phase is very sharp and fast, and I struggle with my driving style in those corners to be very precise. So I’ve been working hard on that and put it together, so that felt good.

“We worked really hard, it was a bit messy in practice with not everything coming together but I managed it in Q.

“[I am] very happy to start on pole tomorrow. The car is nice to drive but the Red Bulls were very quick during the long fuel run, so tomorrow we just need to do a good start and then hopefully keep that first position.”

The Australian Grand Prix will begin on Sunday 10 April at 6am in the UK.