Leclerc: In the race, our car is better than in qualifying.

      Charles Leclerc set the second fastest time in Austrian Grand Prix qualifying, half a second behind pole-sitter Lando Norris. The Ferrari driver hopes to challenge his McLaren rivals for victory on Sunday.

      Lewis Hamilton posted the fourth fastest time and will start Sunday’s race from his best grid position of the season, not counting the sprint pole in China.

      Charles Leclerc (2nd): "I’m very happy. It’s been a long time since I started from the front row. The season has been tough, but the team keeps pushing. We brought some new updates to this round that made a difference when the gaps are so small.

      I’m very happy with my lap. It’s a good start to the weekend. Our car usually looks better over the race distance than in qualifying, so I hope we can put more pressure on McLaren tomorrow.

      I can’t imagine myself producing a lap like Lando’s in our car, but we’ll keep working to make it possible. I don’t want to take anything away from what Lando achieved—he did a great job, so congratulations to him. He deserved that result. But tomorrow, we’ll try to make life more difficult for him."

      Lewis Hamilton (4th): "A fantastic result. The team has put in a lot of work at the factory to prepare the new floor for this weekend. Compared to Friday, when we were six to nine tenths off, we’re much closer to the leaders today, and starting from the second row is just fantastic—Charles is even on the front row.

      I think if I had been able to finish my final flying lap, I could have been second as well, so in many ways, qualifying was positive. In terms of teamwork, it was the best day—we picked the right time to go out on track, managed the traffic—it was all done at the highest level, and we’ve been working to achieve this.

      We’re still working on putting all the pieces together. You have to do it step by step—you can’t do it all at once. The team is working, and I’m really pleased with the progress we’ve made.

      Chances for a podium? At every race I say I can’t wait to get back on the podium, but today I won’t say that. I’d rather stay quiet and try to do a good job tomorrow. We’re all hoping for that kind of result."