Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has opened up about his difficult Friday, misstep in qualifying, strategy calls, and recent media speculations following his underwhelming fifth-place finish at the F1 Canadian GP on Sunday.
Although leading the pack at the time, Leclerc locked up and crashed into the barriers in the early stages of the first hour of practice. Damage to the survival cell took him out of the running in FP2 as well.
The Monégasque recovered well to finish the third practice session in P2. Unfortunately, despite showing promising pace in Q1 and Q2, he only managed to qualify on the fourth row.
After going purple in Sector 1 on his final flying lap in Q3, the dirty air shed by Isack Hadjar’s car ahead unsettled Leclerc’s SF-25. He suffered a couple of big snaps through Turns 6 and 7 and aborted the lap.
Lining up in eighth, Leclerc started Sunday’s race on the hard compound tyres. Although he was in favour of attempting a one-stop strategy, the Ferrari pit wall insisted on a two-stopper after witnessing the top six drivers struggle in their first stint on the mediums.
Instructed to lift and coast for a significant number of laps throughout the race, Leclerc eventually took the chequered flag in fifth place following Lando Norris’s crash and retirement from the Canadian GP on Sunday.
Leclerc admits driver mistakes undermined Sunday’s results more than strategy
Speaking in the print media pen after the race, Charles Leclerc elaborated on the back-and-forth he had with race engineer Bryan Bozzi over strategy choices during the F1 Canadian GP.
Stating that the pit wall had initially concurred with his choice of a one-stopper, the 27-year-old revealed that he ultimately supported Ferrari’s call to switch to a two-stop strategy despite his on-track impression indicating otherwise.
“There was obviously a discussion around to understand what was the right call. We were aligned at one point, and then the team decided to converge on a two-stop, which I did not agree [with] at that moment. But eventually I think the team has more information than I do on the pit wall.
“But we’ll review it, because I was pretty sure of what I felt, what I had seen around me, that the one-stop was the right call.”
Ascribing his unsatisfactory P5 finish on Sunday to his FP1 crash and error in qualifying, Leclerc surmised that a different strategy decision would’ve led to a similar outcome anyway, given his compromised starting position.
Additionally, the eight-time race winner lamented his failure to maximise the car’s potential in Montreal despite extracting the most from the tricky SF-25 throughout this first half of the 2025 season.
“Again, I think the poor result of today is more down to my mistake in FP1 and the traffic yesterday than anything else. I don’t think the strategy would’ve made a big difference; I think the starting position is eventually what holds us back.
“I rate my first part of the season very high. But I’ll probably say that this weekend I probably didn’t extract the maximum out of our car, because I think the potential was good.”
Leclerc rues his failure to capitalise on the close pack in Canada
In reference to the field being really tight in Montreal and whether a better qualifying outcome would’ve allowed him to contend for victory at the F1 Canadian GP, Charles Leclerc refused to dwell on the ifs and buts.
Shouldering the blame for the subpar results once again, the Ferrari driver maintained that Mercedes boasted the best package in Montreal, followed by Red Bull.
Acknowledging how McLaren’s struggles had provided them with an opportunity to claw back some of their massive deficit to the championship leaders, a frustrated Leclerc implied that his own mistakes during the race weekend had prematurely quashed his chances of securing a better finishing position on Sunday.
“I don’t really want to speak with ifs. At the end of the day, I didn’t put everything together.
“I think Mercedes probably had the upper hand this weekend. Red Bull is consistently there. McLaren was a little bit more on the back foot. I think we were there with them.
“Then where we would have ended up, I don’t know. But at the end of the day, I didn’t do the job.”
Leclerc dismisses recent rumours and highlights better race pace in Montreal
In respect of the recent speculations about Fred Vasseur’s position being at risk and whether his spirits are still high after the underwhelming P5 finish at the F1 Canadian GP, Charles Leclerc responded that he never lacks motivation.
Emphasising how the SF-25 looked encouraging in terms of race pace on Sunday, the Monégasque insisted that the rumblings from the F1 rumour mill don’t impact his performance on track and that he has made his stance clear to the team.
“The motivation is still there. Of course, today was a frustrating race and we are a little bit on the back foot, but more for the starting position than for the actual pace, because I think the pace wasn’t too bad.
“Just frustrated that I didn’t put everything together. But apart from that, everything that is around doesn’t really affect me.
“I think the team really knows where I stand and I know what I want to do and that’s what matters most to me.
“Then, of course, when there are rumours around, that can create a bit of distraction, but I don’t think we’ve been affected by it.”
Leclerc intent on bouncing back
Asked if the Italian marque was hoping for better results at the F1 Canadian GP to potentially drown out the criticism directed at them in recent weeks, Charles Leclerc dismissed the suggestion and proclaimed that Ferrari seek to put their best foot forward every weekend regardless of the off-track chatter.
“I don’t know what it would’ve showed, because all those comments are just rumours and I think I’ll rather just focus on our work.
“We’re not here to try and prove anybody wrong or whatsoever; we’re just trying to do our job the best possible we can.
“We’ll be happy if we do it. We didn’t exactly do everything right this weekend and I’m looking forward to the next race to try and turn that situation around.”
