Leclerc Surprised by Austrian Front Row Start

Charles Leclerc admitted he was pleasantly surprised to qualify second for the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix after believing a front-row start was beyond Ferrari's reach.

Leclerc faced a difficult start to the weekend after Dino Beganovic drove his car during the opening practice session. Ferrari's pace in FP2 and FP3 also suggested a second or third-row start was the most realistic outcome heading into qualifying.

However, the SF-26 came alive in Q3, with Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton briefly locking out the front row before George Russell secured pole position by around two tenths of a second.

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"Yeah, I'm relatively happy about today. Of course, the last few weekends have been quite tough, so I just wanted to have a clean weekend and, most of all, a clean qualifying to start well for tomorrow. So, yeah, to start second is a good place to start from."

Leclerc also praised Ferrari's efforts in bringing recent upgrades, believing they had made a clear difference to the team's competitiveness in Austria.

"The team have been pushing massively to bring upgrades in Barcelona and again this weekend, and that has paid off. If I'm completely honest, I didn't think we'd be starting on the front row until qualifying, really, so it's a good surprise that we are so fast."

After two frustrating weekends in Monaco and Barcelona, Ferrari's qualifying performance at the Red Bull Ring provides renewed confidence heading into Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.