‘We don’t understand why we were so slow’ : Charles Leclerc left shocked after poor Canadian GP qualifying

In a shocking turn of events, both Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were eliminated from the Q2 session of the Canadian GP. As a result, Charles Leclerc will start from P11, whereas, Carlos Sainz will start P12 on the grid.

This comes a real surprise given that Ferrari were so dominant in Monaco a couple of weeks earlier. Charles Leclerc claimed his first win of the season, and his first in his home race in Monaco. Moreover, Carlos Sainz secured a P3 finish as Ferrari were just 24 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors Championship heading into the weekend.

However, Saturday’s qualifying session turned out to be horror show for both the drivers. Charles Leclerc fails to understand the reason for the underperformance, as Ferrari were way off the pace in dry conditions on Saturday. “Yes, I was (used tyres Q2). We used new tyres for the first run of Q2 and the new set for Q3. The big issue was we were so slow. Whenever there was dry conditions, we were slow. We don’t understand it yet since FP3 we were nowhere,” said Leclerc.

Charles Leclerc: Yes, I was (used tyres Q2). We used new tyres for the first run of Q2 and the new set for Q3. The big issue was we were so slow. Whenever there was dry conditions, we were slow. We don't understand it yet since FP3 we were nowhere."

— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) June 8, 2024

“We will push and be back again” : Fred Vasseur after Canadian GP setback

Ferrari chief Fred Vasseur stated that there were going to be several ups and downs during the season. However, they are going to keep pushing, and recover from the poor qualifying show at the Canadian GP.

“We will push and be back again. Today was tough, you will have ups and downs. And we hope to have more ups and downs,” said Vasseur.

On the contrary to what Charles Leclerc said, Fred Vasseur believes that Ferrari’s pace looked good on Saturday. He believes that the forecast for rain during the race could make things interesting, as he does not rule out Ferrari’s chances of securing points in Canada.

“Tomorrow the weather forecast isn’t good. So, it could be a chaotic race and our race pace looked good,” he added.

George Russell claimed the pole position, as the Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen both recorded the same lap time in Q3. The two McLaren drivers continued their fine form, as they start in the second row.

Also Read: “We want to win the world championship” : Charles Leclerc ahead of the Canadian GP