Charles Leclerc sets target after "inevitable" Ferrari grid penalty
Charles Leclerc sets target after "inevitable" Ferrari grid penalty
Charles Leclerc has revealed he is targeting a top-four finish at the Canadian Grand Prix after being hit with an "inevitable grid penalty.
Leclerc had been set to drop 10 places at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve after a new control electronics unit was fitted to the F1-75 after practice on Friday, the third of the season when only two are permitted under the regulations.
But a full back-of-the-grid penalty was confirmed when Ferrari opted to switch to a new ICE, turbocharger, MGU-H and MGU-K.
Leclerc says P4 possible in Montreal
Leclerc qualified 15th in a token run plan aimed at jumping AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda, who will also take a back-of-the-grid penalty and referring to his race prospects, the Monégasque said: "We will try to make the best out of it tomorrow and then hopefully we can have no more reliability issues any more and focus on ourselves and catch the Red Bulls in the championship.
"It was a bit more difficult to overtake than I initially thought [in practice], but overall I think we've got quite a good pace in the car if we play it smart with the strategy, having some clean air, we can come back to P4 or something, so that is the goal and I'll give it everything."
While the pain in Montreal will be significant for Leclerc and Ferrari, he believes they made the right decision in taking their punishment in one dose.
"We knew it, we got ready straight from FP1 to try to plan things in order to prepare the race as much as possible because we knew we would start last. I think we did the right choice. "It makes it a bit harder for us but it's inevitable. There is disappointment but on the other hand I knew it was coming, I half expected it.
"I don't know if there will be any more penalties other than that. Overall I think it's the best we could have done.
"It's not a good situation to be in but I guess we took the right decision to put it all on one race instead of having multiple races with 10-place grid penalties.
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Hamilton struggles pinned on Mercedes by team's OWN driver
- 17 minutes ago
Verstappen issues MAYHEM warning to F1 bosses
- 1 hour ago
Ferrari announce HUGE F1 change to iconic red livery
- 1 hour ago
F1 News Today: Hamilton and Verstappen rivalry takes SHOCK twist as F1 team 'set to announce' mega signing
- Today 05:57
Horner Red Bull saga in new 'evidence' update as big F1 star left 'very angry' - GPFans F1 Recap
- Yesterday 23:57
Cocky sporting legend CHALLENGES Hamilton in stunning claim
- Yesterday 22:57
Related news
Ex-F1 boss names Canadian Grand Prix HEROES
Ferrari issue kept causing car to almost STOP during Canadian Grand Prix
Ferrari's true pace REVEALED by F1 expert after Canadian GP
Alonso's Canadian GP advantage over Hamilton EXPLAINED by F1 expert
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860