Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Battling a time loss north of a second and 10 engine switch changes a lap, Charles Leclerc was left to reflect on a “frustrating” Canadian Grand Prix.
Ferrari already had a lot of work to do after a double Q2 elimination in Montréal, though for Leclerc the task got much harder still when power unit issues set in, these ultimately forcing him to retire by the 40th lap of the race.
Charles Leclerc was losing 1.2 seconds on straights
In an interview with Sky F1 after the Canadian GP, Leclerc opened up about the concerning magnitude of the problems he faced with the Ferrari power unit. He emphasized that there was absolutely no room for improvement in their performance as they had already done everything they could.
Leclerc expressed his frustration, stating, “It was incredibly annoying to be losing 1.2 seconds in the straights.”
“And on top of that, I had to make around 10 adjustments per lap with the engine switch, making it an incredibly frustrating race as I was constantly being overtaken by everyone on the straightaways.”
“In corners, your speed is impressive, and I believe the pace was quite solid initially, despite being 1.2 seconds off. However, due to the engine problem, there was no way we could have improved our performance.”
Leclerc’s winning streak from the Monaco Grand Prix came to an abrupt halt at the Canadian Grand Prix, despite his initial surge of momentum.
Nevertheless, Leclerc emphasized the significance of Ferrari resetting for each race weekend, rather than anticipating a repetition of the events in Monaco.
“We had anticipated being in the mix,” he confessed, “so it was quite unexpected when we arrived for qualifying and found that it wasn’t the situation.”
“However, as the weekend approached, I expressed the need to reset our mindset every time we enter a new weekend, and that’s precisely what we have accomplished. Regardless of what occurred in the previous weekend, we must reset and not depend on the Monaco performance.”
“That didn’t imply we would be soaring like in Monaco, but we were aware it would be challenging.”
“We may have been more surprised by the outcome of qualifying than we initially thought, and this is something we should focus on. Clearly, the engine problem is the primary concern today, and we must thoroughly examine it.”
Overall, it has been a disappointing weekend. The qualifying session did not meet our expectations, and the engine problem during the race prevented us from making a comeback.
When questioned about a new power unit in his Ferrari for the Canadian GP, Leclerc explained, “It’s not a new engine, it’s a fresh problem. We’ve never encountered this before. It’s extremely peculiar.”
More reaction from a thrilling Canadian Grand Prix
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Ferrari experienced a double DNF in Canada, as Carlos Sainz also failed to complete the race. He spun out and incidentally caused Williams’ Alex Albon to retire as well, just 12 laps after Leclerc retired the other Ferrari.
Sainz informed Sky F1 that due to the extensive contact during the day, he would have to assess if there is any damage to the car, which could have potentially affected their performance.
“However, what remains evident and certain is that throughout the day, we maintained a strong pace and remained competitive. As a team, it is crucial for us to analyze and comprehend this situation because it is indeed disheartening to transition from our strongest performance to our weakest.”
“Yes, it’s like the modern-day Formula 1, and we must examine these fluctuations in performance to bounce back even stronger.”
Sainz was asked about the areas where Ferrari was lacking and the potential consequences in the future. He responded by saying, “At the moment, we are uncertain. We haven’t had the opportunity to thoroughly analyze the situation and draw any definitive conclusions.”
“We now have a whole week ahead of us to comprehend everything before Barcelona.”
Regarding the mistake that ended the race, Sainz clarified that he had hoped to secure some points by taking calculated risks and making aggressive moves. However, this strategy ultimately had negative consequences.
“Yeah, a driver mistake,” he said.
“I began to embrace a more daring approach, sensing that in the dry conditions, we had a slightly better chance to be competitive and potentially secure some points. I decided to take the risk of overtaking cars in DRS trains, but unfortunately, I ended up suffering the consequences.”
Ferrari remain P2 in the Constructors’ Championship, but the gap to Red Bull has grown to 49 points.
Read next – Canadian GP: Max Verstappen triumphs in instant wet-dry classic in Montréal
