Charles Leclerc not feeling the pressure ahead of Ferrari move
Formula 1 | November 26, 2018 15:24 ISTLeclerc will race alongside four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel in 2019 at Ferrari.
Leclerc will race alongside four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel in 2019 at Ferrari.
Mick Schumacher won eight of the last 15 races in F3 this season and said this week he will announce his future race plans soon.
Starting from pole, the Mercedes driver was never seriously challenged and crossed the finish line 12.919 seconds ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas.
Ferrari to sell new model to only 499 people
Hamilton now leads Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel by 50 points in the standings with five races remaining as both chase their fifth title.
Hamilton was .199 seconds faster than Bottas in cool, overcast conditions, followed by the two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.
The company known for its low-slung aerodynamic sports cars will also launch its first SUV -- Purosangue -- after the end of the current business plan in 2022.
Vettel sat glum-faced in the news conference after qualifying third, trailing Hamilton by a sizeable margin in Formula One terms: 0.6 seconds.
The 38-year-old Raikkonen, the 2007 Formula One champion, is being replaced next season by 20-year-old Charles Leclerc.
Sebastian Vettel was nearly two seconds behind Raikkonen in ninth, but was using slower tires than his teammate.
Vettel and Hamilton are both chasing a fifth F1 title to move level with Argentine great Juan Manuel Fangio and go two behind record-holder Michael Schumacher.
The Mercedes driver beat Raikkonen, who had started in pole, to tie Michael Schumacher's record of five Italian GP victories and extend his championship lead.
Surprisingly, it was Kimi Raikkonen who edged his teammate and title hopeful Vettel in qualifying on Saturday to clinch only his second pole position in 10 years.
The Mercedes driver saved his best for the last lap to easily beat Sebastian Vettel's leading time for Ferrari by 0.7 seconds and secure a Formula One record-extending 78th pole.
Vettel was faster than Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.
Hamilton's love of fighting from the back is somewhat ironic, considering he is F1's record holder with 76 pole positions — eight more than Michael Schumacher.
Hamilton managed to fight his way back to finish second after a Ferrari-Mercedes duel developed with Valtteri Bottas leading until Vettel hit the front again with five laps to go.
The last time an F1 race was held here at Le Castellet was in 1990 when Alain Prost won for Ferrari.
Ricciardo said he had not directly spoken to rivals Ferrari and Mercedes, but he hedged when asked if his manager had.
Mercedes were unable to deliver a reliable engine upgrade in time for the Canadian GP, helping Ferrari return to the top of the podium for the first time since 2004.
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