Charles Leclerc: This time our rivals didn't step up – we lost pace ourselves

“I think this time the situation was a bit different because I don't believe the others found extra pace between Q2 and Q3. We simply lost time ourselves, and the main reason was down to the tyres. “The out-lap was extremely tricky. In Q3, the cloud cover increased and the track temperature dropped by one or two degrees. For us, that made a massive difference to the car's handling. I could already feel on the out-lap that we were in serious trouble. “It’s a shame it happened at that exact moment because I am convinced we had the pace to fight right at the front. Unfortunately, we couldn't deliver today,” Leclerc said. “Yes, absolutely. I think the last time I started fourth here I won the race, so hopefully we can repeat that tomorrow. The key is getting a strong launch, positioning the car well, and anticipating what will happen ahead. Turn 1 has a very wide entry, and all sorts of scenarios can unfold there. If you make the right calls, you can gain far more ground than at any other circuit. So I'm really looking forward to the race,” he added regarding his chances of fighting for victory.