Leclerc said: “I felt good straight away from the first laps in practice and then the key was to put the laps together in qualifying. His first lap was on course to go fastest until the final sector, when he felt he was impeded by team-mate Sergio Perez at the final corner. Hamilton was second fastest after the first laps, just 0.056s off Leclerc. I had a little mistake in Turn One, so I had to really push for it in the rest of the lap. The team have a significant upgrade on the car but Fernando Alonso was out at the end of the first session for the first time all year and will line up only 17th.

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