"Did not expect Checo to come with that lap time" - Ferrari's Charles Leclerc after missing out on pole at 2022 F1 Saudi Arabian GP

Charles Leclerc expressed his astonishment at Sergio Perez's epic pole lap at the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Monegasque driver finished 0.025 seconds behind Perez at the end of Q3 in Jeddah.

Ferrari and Red Bull came out all-guns-blazing at the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. With the two teams being the clear favorites in the new season, Leclerc was expected to fight Max Verstappen for pole position in Jeddah. Both drivers were denied, however, by Red Bull's Sergio Perez, who put in his first-ever pole position-winning lap in the sport.

Speaking about missing pole position to Perez, Charles Leclerc told Johnny Herbert:

“The lap felt good, honestly. I am very happy with the lap. All qualifying was about was keeping it on track and not doing any mistakes which would have been only costly. On the second lap, I just went for it and I more or less put everything together. Yeah, I definitely did not expect Checo to come with that lap time. So congratulations to him and I am sure he did an incredible job today.”

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2022 Bahrain GP win a result of two years of hard work, says Charles Leclerc

After comfortably winning the 2022 season opener in Bahrain, Charles Leclerc was quick to give credit for the work put in by Ferrari back at the factory in Maranello. The driver started in pole position, besting reigning world champion Max Verstappen. His teammate Carlos Sainz helped Ferrari secure a rare 1-2 finish after Verstappen's car developed issues with its fuel supply system.

Speaking to the media after the race, Leclerc said:

“It feels amazing obviously after yesterday I felt great but yeah, we had to finish the business today and we did a one-two so it’s the perfect start to the season and I’m incredibly happy after the last two years that have been very difficult for the team for myself for a while obviously for Carlos (Sainz) also last year, we had to work extremely hard. And, and we did work hard and well and, and yeah and to finally prove that all the work that we’ve done in the past two years is paying off is feels amazing.”

Ferrari are expected to continue their dominant form into Sunday's race in Jeddah, with many hoping for another win for the team. Catch the action live as F1 returns to Saudi Arabia for the second time with Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc occupying the front row of the grid.