Leclerc baffled by ‘too slow’ Ferrari in Montreal qualifying

©Ferrari

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Ferrari's Canadian Grand Prix weekend in Montreal took a turn for the worse on Saturday, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos both failing to reach the final top-ten shootout in qualifying in.

As the Scuderia went from Monaco marvels to midfield struggles in Montreal, the double disaster was the Italian outfit’s first failure to reach Q3 as a team since the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa in 2021.

Both Ferrari drivers unexpectedly missed the cut by a narrow margin of less than a tenth of a second, which leaves Leclerc and Sainz with their work cut out for them for Sunday.

Leclerc, who was hoping to carry forward the dominant momentum he enjoyed two weeks ago on home soil, was blunt on his assessment.

2024 Canadian Grand Prix - Qualifying results

"We were just slow. Slow all day,” he told F1 TV, highlighting Ferrari’s inexplicable lack of pace as the central issue.

“There was similar issues also to this morning. I had a sensor issue which was very annoying, then the management of the cars, the management of the session as well wasn’t the best, I think. So all in all, it’s been a tough session.

“I would say that the biggest problem is the pace. We are so slow in the dry at the moment, we don’t understand.

“So it’s a bit strange to go from a really, really good weekend in Monaco in terms of pace and be on the back foot. So, we’ll look into it.”

©Ferrari

Ferrari’s decision to tackle Q2 on used soft tyres that added degradation to the mix certainly didn’t help its drivers’ performance.

Despite the surprising setback, Leclerc is hopeful of salvaging some good in Sunday’s race.

“I still feel confident that tomorrow coming the race, we can put everything together and have a better result,” he said. “However, until now we haven’t proved it on the dry.

“So let’s see what are the conditions and we’ll try to maximise the results. I think that’s the main thing in those races like that. We just need to make sure that we take the maximum points available.

“This weekend we haven’t been great. We’ll focus on that after the weekend to understand where we lacked and for now the best thing we can do is focus on tomorrow.”

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.