Charles Leclerc lays down the gauntlet for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri ahead of the F1 Austrian GP

Charles Leclerc has laid down the gauntlet for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and made it clear that he's coming for the win in the F1 Austrian GP. The qualifying session was an interesting one where the driver was more or less at a gap of around 4-5 tenths to the benchmark from the McLaren driver.

It was only in the final round of qualifying laps in Q3 where it appeared that Ferrari finally took out the sandbags and pushed the car to the maximum. The first lap was impressive from Charles Leclerc, even though it was only good enough for a P2 and around two tenths off Lando Norris. The driver couldn't make much improvement on his second push lap, hindered by the late yellow flag, but it was enough for him to secure a front row.

This would be Charles Leclerc's third front row start of the season after the ones in Bahrain and Monaco. This time out, though, the driver is targeting a win. Ferrari tends to be a car that struggles in qualifying but does better in races. This time around, though, Leclerc has made sure he's on the front row, and that made him more confident about Sunday. When questioned if he could fight for the win, the driver said that he believed in it as he laid down the gauntlet for both McLaren drivers. He told Motorsport,

"I believe in it. The gap is big, we know that. But our car is better in the race. If we can stay close, we can put them under pressure and push them to make mistakes”.

Summing up qualifying, the driver admitted that it was bittersweet because, on one side, he was happy that he was starting on the front row. At the same time, it was clear that he was just too big, as he was more than half a second behind Lando Norris, he told Sky Sports

"I look at both sides, so the right side of the face is smiling and the left side is not. It's positive, because it's been a while since we started from the front row. Monaco is too specific to make comparisons, so it was difficult to think of doing it on a more traditional track. And instead today we did it, so I'm happy. Of course, the gap is big. Lando may have done a crazy lap, but I think there are three and a half or four tenths between the two cars”.

Charles Leclerc gives his thumbs up to the Ferrari upgrades

Throughout the year, Charles Leclerc has been very vocal when it comes to demanding upgrades from Ferrari. The Italian team has been the slowest when it comes to bringing improvements, and the F1 Austrian GP was the race where the team brought a part of its upgrade package. Talking about how it helped close the gap to the front, Leclerc said,

"If we take away Lando, the gaps are narrow. The new floor has certainly done its part, it has helped us get this front row, and the team has done a great job on that. As I said before the weekend, I was quite convinced that it was the right path, but there is always that question mark about the feedback on the track. This time the data matched up, so I am happy”.

Charles Leclerc's best result this season has been a P2 finish. The driver would be hoping to either emulate that or go one step better on Sunday.

Edited by Charanjot Singh Kohli