Leclerc rues errors in 'messy' final qualifying run

Charles Leclerc (MON) Ferrari. 16.03.2019.

Ferrari new boy Charles Leclerc admitted that he was not happy with his performance in Saturday's qualifying session for the 2019 Australian Grand Prix.

It started out well when he topped the times in the first round, pipping Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton by 0.026s in a last minute run after the chequered flag.

Leclerc was also one of very few drivers confident enough not to need a second outing in Q2 to ensure that he would progress to the final top ten pole shoot-out round.

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But Q3 proved to be a bit of a damp squib ending to the day for the Monegasque driver, who moved to Ferrari over the winter following a break-out début season with the Sauber squad in 2018.

"I’m not happy with myself," the 21-year-old told Sky Sports F1 after the end of the session.

"I didn’t do the job in Q3, which is a shame. I thought Q1 and Q2 were very positive on my side,”

“The first run in Q3 was pretty okay," he added. "But then in the second run I made a mistake and locked up in turn one, and then it was just a very messy lap.

“I’ve been struggling quite a lot on this track last year," he pointed out. "So I’m pretty sure things will get better. But I need to work on things from my side to get better when I have to.”

“It’s a shame. I think the top three was definitely there," he said. However, he admitted that Ferrari simply didn't have the firepower to beat the two Mercedes car this week.

"The top two not," he acknowledged. "We’ll work to get better."

Leclerc ended up qualifying for Sunday's race in fifth position, one row behind his team mate Sebastian Vettel. It's an early blow for the youngster who needs some early success to ensure that he's not consigned to 'second driver' status in deference to the four-time world champion.

This weekend at least the pair start the season on even footing with no team orders pending - yet.

"Seb and I are free to fight in qualifying," he told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Obviously I will try to be faster than him. Then when the time comes, the team will make its decisions."

The battle to establish himself alongside Vettel certainly isn't tarnishing his dream job in Formula 1, Leclerc said this weekend that he hoped never to leave Maranello.

"To stay at Ferrari for my whole career would be a dream,"

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.