Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc faced his second consecutive crash in Qualifying at the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP. The Monegasque shared that he “feels ashamed” over the crash.
Leclerc on his 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP qualifying crash
On his first flying lap attempt in the last segment, the 28-year-old lost control of his SF-26 while trying to correct a snap through Turn 4. This ultimately landed him in the barriers and brought out a red flag, temporarily pausing the session. As he failed to set a time, Leclerc will be starting the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP in P10.
When reflecting on his performance in Qualifying, Leclerc could only say that he felt “ashamed”. He had looked a contender for pole position before the error.
“Yeah, I’m okay. I just feel very much ashamed to be here after a crash like that. What did I do? I released the brakes earlier, I tried to carry speed I think, on the previous lap, 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, and I tried, but I obviously regret it, and again I feel very much ashamed.“
Leclerc says SF-26 was not to blame for the crash
The Monegasque faced a similar situation a week ago at the 2026 F1 Monaco GP. After initially taking provisional pole prior to Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli’s flying lap, Leclerc was looking to improve on the following lap. Instead, he crashed at Turn 12 on his next lap, which resulted in him starting the race in P4.
“I mean, the last two races, Canada and Monaco, I was in a very tricky configuration to deal with. And that didn’t make it easy, and Monaco ended the way it ended, and 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. And if anything, it’s a lot worse than that. I put it into the walls, so there’s no excuse. I just feel ashamed.”
Remaining positive for the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP
Despite the disappointing performance in Qualifying, Leclerc remains confident that he will be able to deliver at the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP.
He hopes to redeem himself, but remains dissatisfied with his Qualifying session.
“Obviously, it’s part of our job to be able to come after a session and speak in front of the camera, but when these things happen, and especially after the last few weekends that have been particularly tough to find performance in general, 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 that we can have a good race, but I need to show that, and yeah, I just need to do the perfect race, will be the least to have a bit of a forgiving about the mistake about today, but but yeah, it’s a shame.”
