F1 Grand Prix qualifying results: Leclerc takes French GP pole
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took pole position for the French Grand Prix, the 12th round of the 2022 F1 World Championship.
Leclerc will start ahead of the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.
Leclerc benefited from his team-mate Carlos Sainz giving him slipstreams in Q3, as Sainz will start from the back of the grid due to power unit change penalties.
French Grand Prix qualifying results: Leclerc on pole from Verstappen
| Cla | Driver | Time | Gap | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
1'30.872 | 231.437 | |
| 2 |  Max Verstappen |
 |
1'31.176 | 0.304 | 230.665 |
| 3 |  Sergio Perez |
 |
1'31.335 | 0.463 | 230.264 |
| 4 |  Lewis Hamilton |
 |
1'31.765 | 0.893 | 229.185 |
| 5 | Lando Norris |
 |
1'32.032 | 1.160 | 228.520 |
| 6 | George Russell |
 |
1'32.131 | 1.259 | 228.274 |
| 7 |  Fernando Alonso |
 |
1'32.552 | 1.680 | 227.236 |
| 8 |  Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
1'32.780 | 1.908 | 226.678 |
| 9 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
 |
1'32.922 | 2.050 | 226.331 |
| 10 |  Esteban Ocon |
 |
1'33.048 | 2.176 | 226.025 |
| 11 |  Valtteri Bottas |
 |
1'33.052 | 2.180 | 226.015 |
| 12 |  Sebastian Vettel |
 |
1'33.276 | 2.404 | 225.472 |
| 13 |  Alex Albon |
 |
1'33.307 | 2.435 | 225.397 |
| 14 | Pierre Gasly |
 |
1'33.439 | 2.567 | 225.079 |
| 15 |  Lance Stroll |
 |
1'33.439 | 2.567 | 225.079 |
| 16 |  Zhou Guanyu |
 |
1'33.674 | 2.802 | 224.514 |
| 17 | Mick Schumacher |
 |
1'33.701 | 2.829 | 224.450 |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi |
 |
1'33.794 | 2.922 | 224.227 |
| 19 | Carlos Sainz |
 |
|||
| 20 |  Kevin Magnussen |
 |
|||
| View full results | |||||
What happened in French Grand Prix Q1?
Leclerc set the early pace at 1m31.727s, to which Verstappen responded with 1m31.891s, 0.164 seconds slower. Sainz was third, half a second off the pace, just ahead of Perez.
Falling at the first hurdle were Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), Lance Stroll (who set the same time as Gasly in his Aston Martin), Zhou Guanyu (who suffered a wild moment in his Alfa Romeo), Mick Schumacher (who lost a top-10 lap time due to exceeding track limits on the apex of Turn 3) and Nicholas Latifi (Williams).
French Grand Prix Q1 results: Leclerc fastest from Verstappen
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari | 1'31.727 | 229.280 | ||
| 2 | Max Verstappen |
Red Bull | 1'31.891 | 0.164 | 0.164 | 228.871 |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz |
Ferrari | 1'32.297 | 0.570 | 0.406 | 227.864 |
| 4 | Sergio Perez |
Red Bull | 1'32.354 | 0.627 | 0.057 | 227.723 |
| 5 | Lando Norris |
McLaren | 1'32.672 | 0.945 | 0.318 | 226.942 |
| 6 | Kevin Magnussen |
Haas | 1'32.756 | 1.029 | 0.084 | 226.736 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso |
Alpine | 1'32.819 | 1.092 | 0.063 | 226.582 |
| 8 | Valtteri Bottas |
Alfa Romeo | 1'33.034 | 1.307 | 0.215 | 226.059 |
| 9 | Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes | 1'33.041 | 1.314 | 0.007 | 226.042 |
| 10 | George Russell |
Mercedes | 1'33.109 | 1.382 | 0.068 | 225.877 |
| 11 | Sebastian Vettel |
Aston Martin | 1'33.285 | 1.558 | 0.176 | 225.451 |
| 12 | Esteban Ocon |
Alpine | 1'33.346 | 1.619 | 0.061 | 225.303 |
| 13 | Yuki Tsunoda |
AlphaTauri | 1'33.394 | 1.667 | 0.048 | 225.187 |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo |
McLaren | 1'33.404 | 1.677 | 0.010 | 225.163 |
| 15 | Alex Albon |
Williams | 1'33.423 | 1.696 | 0.019 | 225.118 |
| 16 | Pierre Gasly |
AlphaTauri | 1'33.439 | 1.712 | 0.016 | 225.079 |
| 17 | Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin | 1'33.439 | 1.712 | 0.000 | 225.079 |
| 18 | Zhou Guanyu |
Alfa Romeo | 1'33.674 | 1.947 | 0.235 | 224.514 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher |
Haas | 1'33.701 | 1.974 | 0.027 | 224.450 |
| 20 | Nicholas Latifi |
Williams | 1'33.794 | 2.067 | 0.093 | 224.227 |
| View full results | ||||||
What happened in French Grand Prix Q2?
Leclerc set the bar at 1m32.587s, which both Red Bulls ducked under, with Perez setting 1m32.120s and Verstappen managing 1m31.990s.
Sainz then knocked everyone out of the park by almost a second, with a stunning time of 1m31.081s. Leclerc ran again and got to within 0.135s of his team-mate to make it a Ferrari 1-2.
Knocked out at this point were Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) and Alex Albon (Williams).
French Grand Prix Q2 results: Sainz fastest from Leclerc
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Sainz |
Ferrari | 1'31.081 | 230.906 | ||
| 2 | Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari | 1'31.216 | 0.135 | 0.135 | 230.564 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen |
Red Bull | 1'31.990 | 0.909 | 0.774 | 228.624 |
| 4 | Sergio Perez |
Red Bull | 1'32.120 | 1.039 | 0.130 | 228.302 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes | 1'32.274 | 1.193 | 0.154 | 227.921 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso |
Alpine | 1'32.631 | 1.550 | 0.357 | 227.042 |
| 7 | George Russell |
Mercedes | 1'32.633 | 1.552 | 0.002 | 227.037 |
| 8 | Kevin Magnussen |
Haas | 1'32.649 | 1.568 | 0.016 | 226.998 |
| 9 | Lando Norris |
McLaren | 1'32.777 | 1.696 | 0.128 | 226.685 |
| 10 | Yuki Tsunoda |
AlphaTauri | 1'32.836 | 1.755 | 0.059 | 226.541 |
| 11 | Daniel Ricciardo |
McLaren | 1'32.922 | 1.841 | 0.086 | 226.331 |
| 12 | Esteban Ocon |
Alpine | 1'33.048 | 1.967 | 0.126 | 226.025 |
| 13 | Valtteri Bottas |
Alfa Romeo | 1'33.052 | 1.971 | 0.004 | 226.015 |
| 14 | Sebastian Vettel |
Aston Martin | 1'33.276 | 2.195 | 0.224 | 225.472 |
| 15 | Alex Albon |
Williams | 1'33.307 | 2.226 | 0.031 | 225.397 |
| View full results | ||||||
What happened in French Grand Prix Q3?
On the first runs, Sainz gave Leclerc a tow on the second part of the Mistral Straight and through Signes resulting in a lap of 1m31.209s. Verstappen lapped in 1m31.217s, just 0.008s down, with Perez in third on 1m31.640s.
On the final runs, Leclerc got another tow from Sainz, this time producing a 1m30.872s. Verstappen could only manage 1m31.176s, three tenths slower.
Perez will start third, ahead of the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris (McLaren) and George Russell (Mercedes). Fernando Alonso starts seventh for Alpine from Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri). Neither Sainz nor Kevin Magnussen (Haas) set a time because will both go to the back of the grid due to power unit change penalties and will start 19th and 20th respectively.
French Grand Prix Q3 results: Leclerc takes pole position
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari | 1'30.872 | 231.437 | ||
| 2 | Max Verstappen |
Red Bull | 1'31.176 | 0.304 | 0.304 | 230.665 |
| 3 | Sergio Perez |
Red Bull | 1'31.335 | 0.463 | 0.159 | 230.264 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes | 1'31.765 | 0.893 | 0.430 | 229.185 |
| 5 | Lando Norris |
McLaren | 1'32.032 | 1.160 | 0.267 | 228.520 |
| 6 | George Russell |
Mercedes | 1'32.131 | 1.259 | 0.099 | 228.274 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso |
Alpine | 1'32.552 | 1.680 | 0.421 | 227.236 |
| 8 | Yuki Tsunoda |
AlphaTauri | 1'32.780 | 1.908 | 0.228 | 226.678 |
| 9 | Carlos Sainz |
Ferrari | ||||
| 10 | Kevin Magnussen |
Haas | ||||
| View full results | ||||||
F1 French GP: Leclerc pips Verstappen to pole after Sainz tow
Leclerc surprised at Ferrari strength in French GP qualifying
Why WTR Acura lacked pace to beat MSR in Daytona 24 showdown
Filipe Albuquerque admits that he knew it would be a tall order for Wayne Taylor Racing to overcome sister Acura squad Meyer Shank Racing in last weekend's Daytona 24 Hours.
How MSR took Acura to the first win of sportscar racing's new era
After much anticipation, the new dawn for sportscar racing got underway with a result that mirrored last year's IMSA SportsCar Championship's season-opener run to the previous DPi rules. Here's how Acura once again took top honours in the Daytona 24 Hours with a 1-2 led by Meyer Shank Racing, as the new GTP class for LMDh hybrid prototypes made its bow
Alonso's pushy trait a boost for me in 2023 F1 season, says Stroll
Aston Martin Formula 1 driver Lance Stroll says Fernando Alonso's pushy nature will be a boost to both him and the squad this year.
Porsche aims to “learn quick” from Daytona 24 Hours disappointment
Porsche’s director of factory racing Urs Kuratle says his team will gain valuable answers from its disappointing results in the Daytona 24 Hours.
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return
He has more starts without a podium than anyone else in Formula 1 world championship history, but Nico Hulkenberg is back for one more shot with Haas. After spending three years on the sidelines, the revitalised German is aiming to prove to his new team what the F1 grid has been missing
The potential-laden F1 car that Ferrari neglected
The late Mauro Forghieri played a key role in Ferrari’s mid-1960s turnaround, says STUART CODLING, and his pretty, intricate 1512 was among the most evocative cars of the 1.5-litre era. But a victim of priorities as Formula 1 was deemed less lucrative than success in sportscars, its true potential was never seen in period
Why Vasseur relishes 'feeling the pressure' as Ferrari's F1 boss
OPINION: Fred Vasseur has spent only a few weeks as team principal for the Ferrari Formula 1 team, but is already intent on taking the Scuderia back to the very top. And despite it being arguably the most demanding job in motorsport, the Frenchman is relishing the challenge
The crucial tech changes F1 teams must adapt to in 2023
Changes to the regulations for season two of Formula 1's ground-effects era aim to smooth out last year’s troubles and shut down loopholes. But what areas have been targeted, and what impact will this have?
Are these the 50 quickest drivers in F1 history?
Who are the quickest drivers in Formula 1 history? LUKE SMITH asked a jury of experienced and international panel of experts and F1 insiders. Some of them have worked closely with F1’s fastest-ever drivers – so who better to vote on our all-time top 50? We’re talking all-out speed here rather than size of trophy cabinet, so the results may surprise you…
One easy way the FIA could instantly improve F1
OPINION: During what is traditionally a very quiet time of year in the Formula 1 news cycle, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been generating headlines. He’s been commenting on massive topics in a championship that loves them, but also addressing necessary smaller changes too. Here we suggest a further refinement that would be a big boon to fans
How can McLaren keep hold of Norris?
Lando Norris is no longer the young cheeky-chappy at McLaren; he’s now the established ace. And F1's big guns will come calling if the team can’t give him a competitive car. Here's what the team needs to do to retain its prize asset
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.