A frustrated Charles Leclerc is feeling “ashamed” of himself after crashing in qualifying for the Formula 1 Barcelona Grand Prix, leaving him 10th on Sunday’s grid.
The Ferrari driver drifted onto the dustier line at Turn 4, inevitably causing him to lose the back end and spin into the barrier on the first push lap of his Q3 session.
It has continued an underwhelming run for Leclerc, who is without a podium since Japan in March and crashed out from third at his home race in Monaco last weekend.
He blamed last week’s crash on his brakes, so switched to a similar configuration as team-mate Lewis Hamilton, but still had little effect as he ended another session in a downbeat mood.
When asked if the brakes had anything to do with his qualifying crash, Leclerc replied: “No, no, there’s none of that.
“I adapted very well straight from FP2, I felt very at ease with it, and there’s nothing of that – there’s no excuses.
“I felt very ashamed after the last three weekends that have been particularly difficult for me to find pace for issues I had.
“Today, and this weekend, I think everything felt really, really good and on these days I need to deliver and I didn’t. So I felt very ashamed in general.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
The result is made worse by Hamilton qualifying second, so he is in a good position to extend his points advantage over Leclerc after jumping ahead following his podiums in Canada and Monaco.
So, this weekend is now a case of damage limitation for the Monegasque, who was just trying to over-correct the speed deficit he thinks Ferrari had at Turn 4 in Barcelona.
Leclerc told Sky Sports: “I released the brakes earlier. I think we were close to being the fastest car every corner apart from Turn 4.
“I knew it was a weakness, I knew I had to make everything perfect for that lap. I tried, but I obviously regret it and again I feel very much ashamed.
“The last two races, Canada and Monaco, I was in a very tricky configuration to deal with, that didn’t make it easy and Monaco ended the way it ended. That was already very difficult to take and accept, knowing that I could do little with it.
“But this weekend there was none of that. The car was great, the feeling with the car was amazing and I didn’t deliver. If anything, it’s a lot worse than that, I put it into the wall.
“So there’s no excuses, I just feel ashamed. The only positive I can take is that the feeling that I have in the car is back and for tomorrow I feel optimistic. But I need to show that. I just need to do the perfect race.”
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