Sauber driver Charles Leclerc is again catching the attention of Formula 1's biggest names after making Q3 for the first time in his Formula 1 career at the French GP.

The Monegasque driver produced an incredible final lap in Q2, which would be over half a second faster than both in Q1 and Q3 times, to just pip Esteban Ocon into the top 10.

His achievement marked Sauber's first appearance in the final part of qualifying since 2015, going on to claim eighth, with the 20-year-old ecstatic following what he called a "disaster" on Friday.

“It is just unbelievable. It is probably the best recovery I did in my career from one day to another,” Leclerc told Sky Sports.

“I went to bed very late because I worked quite a lot with the engineers to find out what were the issues and I think they have been very good to identify the exact issues and they understood really what I wanted from the car and that is what we did today."

On the same week that Ferrari chiefs are believed to be edging towards their lead academy driver to replace Kimi Raikkonen in 2019, it was certainly the perfect way to increase those chances and his possible future teammate Sebastian Vettel was pleased.

"I saw on the screen that [Sauber team boss] Fred [Vasseur] was happy so I knew one of his drivers did well in Q2," the German commented.

"Eighth is an impressive result, they are still quite a long way behind with the car.

"For him, he's doing the job, it's good for him and for Sauber as well to be up there and have a chance to score points."

Also, Lewis Hamilton praised the performance of the F2 champion, with the Briton relating to the situation Leclerc finds himself in as a driver looking to live up to a reputation built in junior series.

"There's a lot of pressure for him, being here in the south of France, so it's really, really good," said Hamilton, after claiming pole.

"I'm happy for him, particularly in that car, he's done a great job with what he has - probably even more, which is what you hope from a good driver."

Mercedes have confirmed all six cars that use their engine are using an upgraded version which is actually superior to that meant to be introduced two weeks ago in Canada.

The German manufacturer delayed the Phase 2 power unit after a quality issue was discovered during testing on the dyno at the team's engine base in Brixworth, believed to be related to the crankshaft area.

As late as Thursday, the drivers were unaware what specification would be installed for Paul Ricard, but now that the engine set to be used for the next seven races has been revealed.

“All six Mercedes-powered cars were fitted with fresh ICE (internal combustion engine), Turbocharger and MGU-H this weekend,” the team said in a tweet.

“Those new components are of an upgraded specification which contains reliability and performance updates.

"While we would have introduced a Phase 2 PU in Canada, this is a Phase 2.1 with some added goodness," it added.

“Thanks to a fantastic effort by the team in Brixworth!"

The "added goodness" would well include some additional power in qualifying mode though estimates only suggested the difference in performance would be around a tenth of a second.

“The new engine feels clean and fresh but we won’t really know its full potential until tomorrow when everyone gets to turn their engines up," Lewis Hamilton commented.

“I’m grateful for the hard work that everyone put into it back in Brixworth. They’ve been pushing so hard to get this engine and do it in the right way.”

Fernando Alonso didn't cut a particularly frustrated figure despite both he and McLaren teammate Stoffel Vandoorne being knocked out in Q1 in qualifying for the French GP on Saturday.

On a difficult week of headlines off the track for the British team, the situation didn't get any better on it with the double world champion only 16th with his Belgian partner starting 17th, ahead of just the equally troubled Williams team.

But commenting on the result, it was only the remarkable pace of Sauber, who got both cars into Q2 with Charles Leclerc going on to take eighth, that seemingly surprised McLaren.

“This morning in the meeting we predicted to be between P14, P15 so it is where we are,” Alonso said.

Single-lap pace has been a problem for the Woking-based outfit all season, but in the races, the situation has often been different, therefore the double world champion isn't giving up.

“It is definitely disappointing and we need to keep working,” he stated. “Nevertheless in the last seven races, we were in the points every single race apart from mechanical issues. I think tomorrow is still another chance.”

The 36-year-old also mentioned his remarkable streak against Vandoorne, with the 26-year-old having failed to out-qualify Alonso in 13 races.

“The performance is what it is. Two-tenths in front of the most talented young driver of the last couple of years, Stoffel [Vandoorne]. It is the place we are, you know,” he claimed.

“On the personal side, I’m trying to do everything possible. I believe I’m the only one right now who is 8-0 against the champion in GP3 [sic], GP2 and all the categories he has raced in.”

A lack of top speed and problems in slow-speed corners are the main areas McLaren is believed to be struggling most, however, finding solutions are easier said than done.

“It’s in aerodynamics [and] it’s something that doesn’t show up in the windtunnel," CEO Zak Brown said. "Therefore we can’t try and solve it in the windtunnel because we can’t replicate the issue or issues in the windtunnel.

“We had some different aerodynamic devices last year that we don’t have this year and so we’re having to try and sort these issues out at the race track,” he added.

Formula 1's two title contenders, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, admit it took some time for them to adapt to the challenge of Paul Ricard in practice on Friday.

Hosting its first French Grand Prix since 1990, most drivers have a good amount of experience around the circuit at Le Castellet thanks to junior formulae and F1 tyre tests, yet with it vast run-off areas and numerous alternative layouts it was causing some problems.

During Practice 1, Vettel was caught braking for the wrong chicane on the Mistral Straight and generally lacked pace compared to his rivals, finishing three-tenths slower than his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen.

“I think the car is quick but I was not able to be quick with the car today,” the German said. “Sometimes you have these days.

“I think it is a tricky track, not easy to get everything right. Some corners are difficult to find the sweet spot.”

However: “On the long run, I was able to play around a little bit more and try a few different lines so hopefully I can start from there tomorrow and I think, car-wise, we can improve,” the four-time champion added.

“It is not yet where it should be.”

Despite being fastest in both sessions, Hamilton largely echoed his main rival's thoughts.

“It’s always a challenge when you come to a new circuit, but you’re constantly learning new things and I love the challenge of trying to get into the swing of it before everyone else,” Hamilton said.

“There’s a lot of different lines you can take and it’s tricky to find reference points out on the track.

“There’s a couple of places for example on the back straight where you’re trying to find out where the corner is – it’s really hard to see.”

Lewis Hamilton overcame a strong challenge from teammate Valtteri Bottas to claim his 75th career pole at the French Grand Prix in qualifying.

After rain had washed out final practice, the track was dry for the one-hour session to decide the grid for Sunday's race and in the all-important Q3, it was about punch and Counterpunch between the two Mercedes drivers for top spot.

Hamilton was the fastest man after the first runs, but Bottas would move back ahead with his second attempt only for a fastest final sector to be enough for the defending world champion to secure his first pole since the Spanish GP by just over a tenth of a second.

Sebastian Vettel tried to get involved in the battle for Ferrari but ultimately had to settle for third, almost four-tenths slower than Hamilton.

The two Red Bulls took advantage of a poor Q3 for Kimi Raikkonen to finish fourth and fifth as a low downforce package on Max Verstappen's proved the right way to go on setup, giving the Dutchman almost two-tenths advantage over Daniel Ricciardo.

Raikkonen made mistakes on all three of his flying laps and was then somewhat fortunate to escape penalty for blocking Kevin Magnussen on his final run but will still start in P6.

A crash for Romain Grosjean at Turn 3 would cause a red flag midway through the top 10 shootout, disadvantaging his Haas teammate Magnussen before his later incident with Raikkonen, and it would allow Carlos Sainz to claim seventh for Renault.

The star of qualifying was undoubtedly Charles Leclerc, however, as the Monegasque became the first Sauber driver since 2015 to make Q3 and would also benefit from Haas' issues to claim P8 on the grid.

Magnussen and Grosjean would complete the top 10.

Q2 was an interesting one with light rain causing some trouble for the drivers without wettening the track too much.

Still, both Mercedes' and both Red Bulls opted to use the slower Supersoft tyre, which they will start the race on, compared to the Ultrasoft on both Ferraris.

It was an incredible late lap by Leclerc, over half a second faster than his other laps, that saw him beat Esteban Ocon by just 0.02s to make Q3 and drop the Frenchman to P11 for Force India.

Nico Hulkenberg would also be within the same tenth but in 12th ahead of Sergio Perez and Pierre Gasly in the Toro Rosso.

Having not run but for a few laps before the rain in Practice 3 since his big crash on Friday morning, Marcus Ericsson also produced a good effort to put his Sauber into Q2 and finish P15.

Two teams not mentioned so far are McLaren and Williams and that's because their four cars made up all but one of the positions at the back of the grid, eliminated in Q1.

It was another bump back to earth for Fernando Alonso after his Le Mans victory a week ago, as the Spaniard was only 16th and will have his teammate Stoffel Vandoorne alongside in 17th.

The two Williams' also continue their problems, setting the slowest times of the session but both Sergey Sirotkin and Lance Stroll will move up one place as Brendon Hartley was only 17th fastest but takes a grid penalty for new engine components.  

Lewis Hamilton remained the man to beat as hot temperatures and a stiff wind actually saw lap times rise in the second practice session at the French GP.

The Mercedes driver posted a 1m32.539s on the Ultrasoft tyre during the qualifying simulations, which was three-tenths slower than he managed on the same compound in the morning.

Yet it was enough to lead both Red Bulls by seven-tenths of a second with Daniel Ricciardo just ahead of teammate Max Verstappen.

The reason for the pace slowing was hotter temperatures at Paul Ricard, with the mercury passing 30 degrees in the air and over 50 on track. Also, the well-known Mistral wind continued to blow, making conditions pretty tricky for the drivers on the exposed circuit.

Ferrari's steady start to the weekend continued with Kimi Raikkonen again the fastest of the two Prancing Horse's in P4, three-tenths clear of Sebastian Vettel, who later admitted he was still getting to grips with the challenge of the Le Castellet track.

The final member of leading sextet, Valtteri Bottas, was in seventh place as a water leak discovered during a mid-session red flag saw the Finn stranded in the garage for the second half of the session.

That allowed Romain Grosjean upto P6 in his Haas, as the Frenchman continues as the fastest midfield runner ahead of his first home Grand Prix.

Sergio Perez was the cause of the red flag, as the Mexican's Force India shed its left-rear wheel entering the Mistral Straight before rolling at some pace for quite some distance down the 1.8km stretch.

The team escaped penalty, however, after it was discovered debris in the wheel nut had misinformed the mechanic as to how tightly it was attached and the tyre worked itself loose before eventually coming free.

A late Ultrasoft tyre run for Fernando Alonso saw the McLaren driver move up to P8, likely flattering the actual pace of the MCL32. A late spin also highlighted just how hard the double world champion was pushing.

Kevin Magnussen solidified Haas' strong pace in P9 while Pierre Gasly also continued his solid start to his home GP weekend in P10 for Toro Rosso.

The junior Red Bull team continues to look much more competitive thanks to the upgraded Honda engine but there was a concern over reliability when Brendon Hartley pulled off during the later race simulation with flames seen in the exhaust of his STR13.

Outside the top 10, Renault's disappointing start to their first race weekend in France in 10 years continued with Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz 11th and 12th respectively.

As speculation increases that he could be jumping to Ferrari in 2019, Charles Leclerc continues to punch above his weight in 14th for Sauber, while arguably the future of French motorsport, Esteban Ocon continues to struggle in P16, likely as a result of Perez's wheel failure.

Following his fiery exit from Practice 1, Marcus Ericsson unsurprisingly didn't take part in the afternoon as his team rebuilt his heavily damaged car.

Full results from the second session can be seen below:

Formula 1 drivers were in broad agreement in requesting that the Nord chicane on the Mistral Straight be removed at Paul Ricard after practice on Friday.

Once the deal was done that saw the circuit at Le Castellet bring the French Grand Prix back on the calendar for the first time since 2008, one of the main questions was which variant of the HTTT would be used.

With over 100 different configurations, the main focus was on whether to split the 1.8km Mistral Straight with a chicane and even then there was several options available

Eventually, the last apex turning left into the longer right was agreed on hoping that it would encourage overtaking, but there are doubts as to whether it will have the desired impact.

“I think the best race we’ve had up to now this year has been in Baku, and all the tracks should be taking some direction from that," said Force India's Sergio Perez. "The circuit is challenging, it pushes the drivers for mistakes.”

Of course, the main characteristic of Baku is the 2.2km run from Turn 16 to Turn 1 which allows drivers plenty of chance to slipstream alongside but also forces the cars to run lower downforce to achieve a better top speed.

Also Read:

• Vettel & Hamilton both enjoying the challenge of adjusting to Paul Ricard

“I think a long straight line will potentially create more overtakes,” Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley, who was completed many WEC tests at Paul Ricard told Motorsport.com.

“I don’t think it will happen for tomorrow, but I’ve tested and raced without the chicane. It makes things interesting because it’s less downforce with the long straight line, Turn 10 becomes more of a corner, and so does the last sector with less downforce.

“Maybe it’s a discussion point for next year. The good news is here there are plenty of options.”

Any changes would indeed have to wait until 2019 with only the layout being used this weekend homologated by the FIA with tests, including the use of DRS needing to be considered with Turn 10 a flat-out right-hander.

A week after it was reported McLaren staff were considering a "revolt" against their bosses, one anonymous employee has revealed stunning details of certain situations which took place at the Woking-based team.

Former boss Martin Whitmarsh gave an interview with the Daily Mail in which he said he still had some contacts with the McLaren and from what he was being told, suggested it was time for a change in leadership and offered himself to return and try to turn their fortunes around.

His comments lead to a sharp response from McLaren, scolding their predecessor, however, now a new article is painting an even worse picture of life within the once great British team.

“For example, we were given two weeks to produce the Spain upgrade package in May," the anonymous member began.

“We all worked 24/7 to meet the deadline. We got it done in time. So a week later a Freddo was handed out to all staff involved as “a bonus”. Supervisors are embarrassed to hand them out.

“We also got a Freddo last year after building the car.”

To put that into perspective, a team that, at a conservative estimate has a budget of $120m was handing out chocolate bars which cost 25p each and "strictly one each" at that.

McLaren has also struggled to find solutions to problems with their MCL32 car, which has remained mired in the midfield despite switching to Renault engines for 2018, and those at the top are reportedly so unsure of what to do, they had a remarkable idea.

“They told us at the post-Canadian Grand Prix debrief that they knew what was wrong with the car but not how to fix it. They ask us to build prototypes out of wood if they had any ideas when they are on six-figure salaries."

The article continued: “We call four of the management the “Untouchables”. There is Eric Boullier, racing director, Matt Morris, chief engineer, Simon Roberts, chief operating officer, and David Probyn, operations director. Some of them just walk about chatting. We have no respect for them.

“People are beginning to boycott the debriefs because they are a joke. The atmosphere is toxic. We would like to go on strike but people fear for their jobs.”

Despite the lack of admiration for those in charge, the employee did concede: “McLaren has one of the most loyal and long-serving staff in the entire motorsport industry.

"Our team leaders are free to reward their staff with spontaneous, thoughtful and fun gifts whenever they feel that a job or task is worthy of extra recognition and reward. This was just such an example, alongside so many others that happen on a daily basis.”

Team boss Christian Horner says he feels pretty sure Daniel Ricciardo wants to stay with Red Bull in 2019, as speculation over the Australian's future intensifies.

His comments came in an interesting principal's press conference on Friday at Paul Ricard with McLaren's Eric Boullier and Renault's Cyril Abiteboul present on a week when both teams had some kind of link to Red Bull.

Renault's came after the Milton Keynes outfit announced their decision to end the 12-year engine partnership with the French manufacturer and switch to Honda power for next season.

Meanwhile, McLaren was identified by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko as having targeted Ricciardo for a seat in 2019, claiming the British team had offered $20m a year to try and lure him over.

“I’d like to think we are in good shape [to keep him],” Horner told Sky Sports F1 on Friday.

“The key for me is: does Daniel want to be in the team next year? Take everything [else] away from that and does he want to be in the team?

“I get the impression very much that he does what to be there. He sees the progress, sees the potential.

“So hopefully now that the other bits and pieces are sorted, the engine is sorted, it should be relatively straightforward to finalise.”

As for the attractiveness of switching to a team currently among the top three, something Ricciardo didn't rule out, the Red Bull boss doubts the chances of that are too high.

"It would be a fairly bold decision to step out of a car he's won two Grands Prix in this year and is a championship contender," he claimed.

"Let's not forget he's been in a car that the last couple of Grands Prix [Monaco and Canada] has been lapping the cars to our left [McLaren & Renault].

"I would be surprised if he was to leave the team because it's a good fit between himself and Red Bull but it's Formula 1."

Daniel Ricciardo would be interesting in the thought of joining a team up which could be built up into a championship-contending outfit in 2019.

His admission comes after Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko suggested McLaren are prepared to offer $20m a year for the Australian, likely as a replacement for an IndyCar-bound Fernando Alonso.

Given Ricciardo has previously stated his decision next season will be driven by a will to become champion some would consider the chances of him joining one of the current midfield teams as very small, however...

"I'm not going to say 'no, it doesn't interest me at all', probably more because of what Lewis [Hamilton] was able to do with Mercedes," he told Autosport, with the Briton leaving McLaren at the end of 2012 and joining a then less competitive Brackley-based outfit.

"Those two teams [McLaren and Renault], they're not quite in that position yet but could they be? Maybe. The thought of that, it has some appeal. I wouldn't say it's probably top of my list right now, but I also wouldn't dismiss it.

"Obviously McLaren and Renault aren't there today, but maybe they will be there in a year or three years' time."

In direct response to his Red Bull advisor's claim, Ricciardo said he had not been "presented anything" by McLaren but wouldn't be surprised if the British team were considering him.

"Probably depends on what Fernando [Alonso] does, if he stays, if he goes," he said. "If he does go, then I guess, yeah, they'd probably want a more experienced driver to come in."

Perhaps the most important factor now for the 28-year-old to decide is whether Red Bull is going to be competitive enough after switching to Honda engines, as they confirmed earlier this week.

"It was something I was in a way already trying to prepare for or calculate in my mind," he said.

"Just going to try and understand a little bit more about it now that it's definitely happening, and just to try and keep putting the pieces together if it's a good move.

"There's certainly a lot of pros. Just trying to add it all up, really, in my mind."