Charles Leclerc described the Canadian Grand Prix as “frustrating” after losing more than a second and having to change engine switches 10 times per lap.
Ferrari already had a lot of work to do after their double Q2 exit in Montreal, but the job became even harder for Leclerc after they suffered power unit problems that ultimately forced him to retire on lap 40 of the race.
Charles Leclerc was 1.2 seconds slower on the straights
Speaking to Sky F1 after the Canadian Grand Prix, Leclerc revealed the shocking extent of the problems he was battling with Ferrari’s PU, saying there was “no better way” to improve performance.
“I was missing 1.2 [seconds] “It was very frustrating on the straight,” Leclerc said.
“And during that time I changed the engine switch about 10 times per lap, but everyone was passing me on the straights so it was a very frustrating race.
“We’re quick in the corners and actually I think our pace was quite strong early on considering we were 1.2 seconds down, but we had some engine issues so we couldn’t have done better.”
Leclerc was riding high on the Canadian Grand Prix after the joy of his home victory in Monaco last time out, but his momentum came to a halt in Canada.
But Leclerc said he would not expect a better result than what happened in Monaco, and stressed the importance of Ferrari resetting after each race weekend.
“We were hoping to get a good place,” he admitted. “I was surprised when we qualified but it wasn’t to be.”
“But going into the weekend I said, I think you have to reset every new weekend and that’s exactly what we’ve done. No matter what happened the weekend before, you have to reset and you can’t rely on the performance in Monaco.”
“So it wasn’t going to be like flying in Monaco, but we knew it was going to be tough.
“I think there was a bigger surprise than what actually happened in qualifying and I think that’s something we need to look at. Obviously the main issue today was the engine issue and that’s something we need to look at seriously.”
“But overall it was a frustrating weekend, we didn’t have the pace we wanted in qualifying and then we had an engine problem in the race which we couldn’t recover from. [from]. “
When asked if Ferrari would have a new power unit for the Canadian Grand Prix, Leclerc clarified: “It’s not a new engine, it’s a new problem. I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s very strange.”
Further reactions from a thrilling Canadian Grand Prix
👉 Team orders controversy erupts at Canadian Grand Prix, worsening rift between Esteban Ocon and Alpine
👉 Lewis Hamilton needs to ‘bounce back’ after ‘worst race’ Canada ruling
It was a double DNF for Ferrari in Canada, with Carlos Sainz also failing to see the chequered flag, spinning out and taking with Williams’ Alex Albon 12 laps after Leclerc forced the sister Ferrari into retirement.
“We had a lot of contact today so we need to check if there is any damage to the car which may have limited the pace,” Sainz told Sky F1.
“But it’s clear and certain that we had the pace and we were competitive at every point today. [sic]This is something that we as a team definitely need to analyse and try to understand because, yes, it would be very disappointing to go from your strongest weekend straight to your weakest.
“But this is F1 now and we have to analyse what is going on with these performance fluctuations in order to come back stronger.”
When asked what Ferrari’s shortcomings were and how they would affect the future, Sainz said: “The truth is, we don’t know yet. We haven’t had time to analyse it and draw any conclusions.”
“So we have a week before the Barcelona game to fully understand it.”
And as for his race-ending mistake, Sainz explained that he thought he might be able to score points by taking a risk and finishing the move, but that the strategy ultimately backfired.
“Yes, driver’s error,” he said.
“I knew that in the dry conditions I could have been a bit more competitive so I started taking risks. If I had taken the risk and passed a few cars with the DRS train I could have scored some points but in the end I paid the price for it.”
Ferrari remains second in the constructors’ championship but the gap to Red Bull has widened to 49 points.
Read next – Canadian Grand Prix: Max Verstappen wins wet/dry race in Montreal
