Check out the drivers' statements after qualifying for the 2022 F1 French GP

Charles Leclerc has once again put Ferrari in pole position for the 2022 Formula 1 season. The Monegasque clocked 1min30s872 on Saturday afternoon (23) and took the top spot on the grid for the French GP, 0s304 ahead of second-placed Max Verstappen.

0s463 behind the leader, Sergio Pérez took third place on the grid, ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Lando Norris surprised McLaren in fifth place, ahead of Georg Russell, Fernando Alonso, Yuki Tsunoda, and Daniel Ricciardo. Esteban Ocon closes the top ten.

Valterri Bottas will start 11th, followed by Sebastian Vettel, Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll, Guanyu Zhou, Mick Schumacher, and Nicholas Latifi. Carlos Sainz Jr. and Kevin Magnussen were punished for engine changes, and took the last two grid positions.

Check out the drivers' statements:

Charles Leclerc, pole-position: Leclerc admits "good surprise" with pace in France and thanks Sainz: "Great job"

Max Verstappen, second: Verstappen maintains optimism with 2nd place in France: "We are faster on the straights".

Sergio Pérez, third: Pérez shows relief at 3rd place in "worst weekend" and hopes to beat Ferrari in France

Lewis Hamilton, fourth: Hamilton laments distance to Red Bull and Ferrari in France: "Level above us"

Lando Norris, fifth: Norris says he did a lap that "deserved pole" and celebrates fifth place on the grid in France

George Russell, sixth: Russell sees "worrying distance" to leaders in France: "Far from what we expected

Fernando Alonso, seventh: Alonso demands more pace from Alpine for Paul Ricard race: "If not, it will be difficult

Yuki Tsunoda, eighth: Tsunoda aims for points in the French GP and values updates on "good Q3 lap"

Daniel Ricciardo, ninth: "I'll get some goodies, but, yes, it was tricky. It's still kind of hard to push and get what I want, some things were tricky, but it's just because I'm trying. It's still, obviously, frustrating to be in Q3. It got really close, so it probably hurts a little bit more, but it's complicated, on the razor's edge. I'm just trying, you know, but you push and push is not always that friendly. We'll keep working on it."

Esteban Ocon, tenth: "It was a disappointing qualifying, terrible I have to say. It's not where we should finish. I think the car has the potential to be sixth or seventh. We are not happy, but we have been struggling with a very inconsistent car for a few races now. Fifth in Austria and last in practice here is impossible. It's not where we want to be. It's a difficult problem to solve, but for sure you have a fundamental problem that we need to find."

Valtterri Bottas, 11th: "It was a good session and starting 11th tomorrow gives us good opportunities, It was a shame we had to use two new sets of tires in Q1 and one in Q2, it feels like we are missing a few tenths to be in the top-10 in qualifying, but still, it was a good performance. Hopefully we can take a step forward with race pace tomorrow. At worst, it will be a little better than in qualifying. It's hard to predict how the tires will wear out in these temperatures. Overall, I'm happy with my side: my laps were good, just a little bit of pace is missing. Our tendency is to make progress in the race. With Sainz and Magnussen's punishments, we started 11th, which should allow us to get into the points."

Sebastian Vettel, 12th: Vettel praises Aston Martin's upgrades, but ponders: "We still lack grip

Alex Albon, 13th: "I think we got a lot out of the car today and I was happy with that. The wind increased and I had a little bit of trouble with that. I think we've been a bit lucky this weekend so far with light wind, but it increased in qualifying and was getting stronger, which was bad for us. The team is doing a good job and got a very different package, so we are really fighting for Q2, which is exactly where we want to be. Starting 13th puts us in a good position for tomorrow, so let's see what we can do from there."

Pierrey Gasly, 14th: Gasly says he lost car after TL2 and is "extremely frustrated" to crash in Q1 in France

Lance Stroll, 15th: "It was a shame to hit traffic in the last sector on my final stint. That definitely cost me a place in Q2 today. My exit lap was also highly compromised, so I also had more in the first sector. Still, our long-run pace looked promising on Friday and overtaking is possible here, so we have plenty of opportunities to overtake tomorrow. Let's take a look at things tonight and see what we can do in the race."

Guanyu Zhou, 16th: "Taking into account the way we prepared for qualifying, I was definitely expecting more. In the end, I struggled with balance throughout the session. Q1 was not ideal, the lack of grip was a surprise, and this prevented me from having a clean lap. Also, I made some mistakes in the second sector during my first exit and almost lost the car in turn 6 on the second exit. The lack of [feeling] in the rear was a bit frustrating and we will have to investigate that. I don't think we are where we should be today. Tire management will be tough tomorrow, but I think we'll have plenty of opportunities, especially in 16th position. The main goal, as always, is to get both cars in the points. Everything is at stake."

Mick Schumacher, 17th: "It's a rule, it's there for everybody, and unfortunately I crossed the line, but it's definitely something we should talk about. The conditions were very difficult there, it's hot, but on the other hand this can create opportunities, as people can make mistakes. It's just a matter of being clean and taking care of the tires as much as possible. I think we have the potential to move forward in the race and that's what we're aiming for."

Nicholas Latifi, 18th: "We should have made it safely to Q2, but the wind increased on my last lap and I lost a lot of time. I was progressively pulling away, so I was around eight-tenths faster than the time I did, but everything was lost from the chicane. I lost all grip. The pace was in the car and there are clear signs of improvement with the upgrade. We will check the car tonight and hopefully the wind will die down for tomorrow's race."

Carlos Sainz Jr. 19th: Sainz celebrates Leclerc's pole at Paul Ricard: "It was our plan for the weekend"

Kevin Magnussen, 20th: "The pace of the car was really good. The plan was to go out and help Mick with the vacuum, but then he didn't make it to Q2. We had already planned to go out, so we went ahead even though it didn't make sense and it was fun with a fast car. We will start last tomorrow, but hopefully the car will be good again in the race and we can progress.

GRANDE PRÊMIO follows LIVE and IN REAL TIME all the activities of the French GP weekend. On Sunday, the start is scheduled for 10:00 am (GMT-3).