Max Verstappen could give Charles Leclerc a taste of his own medicine in a bid to end the Ferrari star's qualifying dominance.
The Dutchman has a 63-point advantage over his rival after the first 12 races of the season. But that is thanks to better results during the races themselves, rather than advantages gained during qualifying sessions throughout the year.
Verstappen has won seven races so far in 2022, but only two of them have come from pole position. In total he has only gone fastest in qualifying on three occasions, while Leclerc has generally found more one-lap pace and snatched P1 seven times.
Considering things have generally gone so well for him during races, Verstappen could perhaps be forgiven for continuing exactly as normal. But, ever the perfectionist, the defending champion wants better qualifying results to go with what he is able to achieve on race day.
And the 24-year-old admitted Red Bull could copy a Ferrari tactic to do so. Leclerc was helped to pole in France last weekend thanks to a tow from team-mate Carlos Sainz, who had a grid penalty – and Verstappen would be keen to do the same if the roles become reversed this season.
"I mean, we are both of course trying to get the best possible qualifying result," he told reporters. "I mean, it's a bit different – Carlos [was] starting in the back. So, I think it was a smart thing to do. And probably if one of us, you know, had to start in the back, something similar can happen as well."
Also speaking to the media in the same press conference, Leclerc described the work that has to go into choreographing such a move at high speed. "It's quite tricky to get it exactly right," revealed the Monegasque.
"I think the first lap, maybe we were a bit too close in eight, nine, and so I lost a little bit there. And I just drove not in the best way possible. And then in the second lap, we adapted that. And then it was better and that was the lap. So yeah, we did a good job communication-wise and also Carlos helping me was amazing."
