Listen to this article The defending champion preserved his soft Pirellis until the closing seven laps of the 21-tour sprint contest to mount a late charge when it looked as though Leclerc was in control. With the aid of DRS and as his Ferrari rival battled oversteer, Verstappen dived around the outside into Tamburello and kept his car on track to take the win and pole for the full GP on Sunday. Leclerc had nailed his launch and with the kink on the main straight placing him on the inside, he could sprint past a wheel-spinning Verstappen to seize first into Tamburello. Verstappen next had to ensure he retained second as Lando Norris threatened around the outside into the first chicane aboard his McLaren, but the defending champion held firm. A super-aggressive Perez demoted Fernando Alonso and then lunged past Daniel Ricciardo for a quick rise to fifth, while Ricciardo in turn briefly tagged fourth-placed Kevin Magnussen in …