Charles Leclerc hits out at Ferrari for ignoring his 'CLEAR OPINION' in Canada shambles

Charles Leclerc

Leclerc hits out at Ferrari for ignoring his 'CLEAR OPINION' in Canada shambles

The Monegasque driver was clearly unhappy with his team after qualifying 11th

Chris Deeley

Sunday 18 June 2023 10:10

Charles Leclerc has hit out at his Ferrari team after qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix, blaming their tyre choices for his dismal performance.

The Ferrari man didn't make it out of Q2 in a rain-affected session, a step behind many other drivers on the switch between soft slick tyres and intermediates.

The 25-year-old failed to make it into the final shootout in Barcelona too, making it two races in a row that the Monegasque has started outside of the top 10 despite his single-lap prowess.

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He criticised the team after the race for multiple tactical errors over the season, saying he had a 'clear opinion' on the correct choice in Q2 – which the team overruled.

Leclerc: I had a clear opinion

“When the track is so dry, and we are staying on inter tyres we are not making our life any easier," he told Sky Sports after the session. "We will discuss with the team. We need to do a step forward now because this is not the first time that it happened. We are quite often in the wrong side of making those decisions in those tricky situations.

"I had a clear opinion, and we went for something opposite that was – obviously it’s frustrating to accept it first, then you are putting yourself in a very difficult situation. From that moment onwards, basically it slips away from us.

"Having said that, it’s not all of that because other drivers managed to go to Q3 doing exactly the same thing as I did. Again, we are just making our lives way too difficult."

He admitted that he didn't end up fighting the tyre decision too hard because he needed to set himself up for a hot lap.

“I said what I thought," he said. "Then I cannot argue for a whole lap because I need to drive [and] prepare my lap and just accept it and deal with it. I did say what I wanted."