Leclerc hopes Ferrari can “play” with split strategies to pressure Verstappen

Championship leader Verstappen pipped Leclerc to pole position in qualifying at Zandvoort on Saturday, edging the Ferrari driver out by just two hundredths of a second in Q3.

Overtaking is notoriously difficult around the tight Zandvoort layout, making it important for Leclerc to get the jump on Verstappen early on for the best chance of reducing the 98-point gap between them in the standings.

But Leclerc hoped Ferrari could use the fact it has two cars starting in…