Ferrari had a disastrous qualifying performance in Canada as both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz failed to reach Q3. Leclerc managed to qualify only 11th, while Sainz will start only 12th. Despite such a disappointing performance, the Monegasque is not ruling out the opportunity to fight for a good points-scoring finish.
Speaking on BBC’s F1: Chequered Flag podcast, the 26-year-old said, “Race run can be very different. Tire management has been a good thing for us this year, so I hope we can use that to come back”.
Ferrari have indeed been good on the tires as they have been able to extend their stints comfortably when compared to their rivals. As a result of the same, both Leclerc and Sainz will have more strategic choices available for the Grand Prix in Montreal.
If Ferrari’s rivals were to pit more than once, both Leclerc and Sainz could try pitting just once to have the best chance of getting back to the front. The #16 driver did so in Japan to get a decent P4 finish. Doing so can perhaps even give both drivers a chance to fight for a podium finish in Canada.
While it will be interesting to see whether the Ferrari duo can make a recovery during the main race or not, it is pertinent to note that their struggles during qualifying are concerning. Leclerc himself admitted to the same and stated that they need to ensure that they can get on top of it.
“We don’t have an answer”: Charles Leclerc on Canada struggles
During the same interview, Leclerc added, “It is a bit strange from one race to another to have such a swing in performance. There has to be something big that we still didn’t see yet”.
Ferrari’s pace in Canada so far has indeed been shocking because of how strong they were in Monaco. Leclerc dominated his entire home race weekend as he qualified on pole before leading every lap during the race to register a maiden home Grand Prix victory.
A disappointing Quali for us, although anything can happen in tomorrow’s race and we’ll be there to capitalize #CanadianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/74DgSUBnlQ
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) June 8, 2024
Since there has been such a pendulum swing in their performance levels, Leclerc added, “For now, we don’t have an answer”. The Monegasque will hope that Ferrari can find the answers to their problems soon as the Canadian GP is likely to put a big dent on his championship hopes if he is unable to recover significant ground during the race.
As things stand, Leclerc is 31 points behind championship leader Max Verstappen, who will start the Canadian GP in second. Therefore, with the #16 driver starting outside the top 10, it is likely going to be damage limitation for him this weekend by trying his best to get as many points as possible.
