The 2024 Canadian GP qualifying came to a shocking end for Ferrari when both cars got knocked out of Q2. Charles Leclerc will start the race from P11, one position ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz. Leclerc’s radio message and body language as he got out of the car pointed toward clear frustration, but his unusual behavior afterward is what raised eyebrows.
Leclerc is fresh off a race win at home and has been raving about his team ever since. Coming to Canada, Leclerc was confident he’d paint the track red with another victory.
Unfortunately, despite their breakthrough success, even a podium seems out of reach. There was simply no pace in the SF-24.
The disappeared form sparked pure rage within Leclerc whose post-session radio sounded like, “I guess we are f*cked. I won’t comment here.” But he was willing to say whatever he wanted during to the press. Usually, drivers’ press officers share a brief that gets rinsed and repeated across various interviews. But not today.
Mia
Charles: “I will say what I want.” #F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/U9l4PsMdgB
— CL16__FanpageFr (@Cl16__FanpageFr) June 8, 2024
Leclerc glimpsed his script and concluded, “It’s okay. I’ll say what I want.” Rebellious, sure, but Leclerc didn’t go too rogue, voicing his frustrations mildly. “We weren’t fast and what’s more, we didn’t manage… We weren’t fast enough. Since we’ve been on in the dry, we can’t get the tires to work, it’s just frustrating.”
The drop from the top hasn’t been pleasant for Leclerc but with an interesting race coming up, a lot can happen.
Fred Vasseuer protects Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz
Sassy questions come as secret weapons during interviews, and Jacques Villeneuve pointed one at his target, Fred Vasseuer. The double Q2 elimination humiliating enough, Villeneuve looked to rub salt in Vasseur’s wounds.
Ferrari was the weekend’s favorite for the win, something the former F1 champion didn’t fail to mention, “before the start of the weekend, I was convinced that Ferrari…”
Jacques: before the weekend started i was convinced that ferrari-
fred: yeah, but sometimes you are wrong— clara (@leclercsletters) June 8, 2024
Vasseuer quickly snapped, refusing to let Villeneuve complete his bitter statement. “Yeah, but sometimes you are wrong.”
Ferrari is well aware of the problem at hand. Hopefully, for them, they channel their feistiness into their car and whip up some magic at the Canadian GP.