14/06/2025 11:30
Charles Leclerc does not feel he is on the back foot after missing
most of Friday practice ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix. Just 15
minutes into the opening session of the weekend, Leclerc collided
with the barrier on the exit of Turn 3 after locking up and running
across the grass. The significance of the impact meant he cracked
his chassis, ruling him out of the second practice session later in
the day. Leclerc issued an apology to the Ferrari squad as he
described the "very stupid" incident from behind the wheel. "First
of well, I felt sorry for the whole team," Leclerc said. "That's
never something you want. "It was a very stupid crash – I had a
lock-up, I thought I would make the corner. "I knew I would go in
the grass, but I thought that was enough to not touch the wall.
"Unfortunately, when I then ended up in the grass, I understood
that there was no room anymore. "It's just a misjudgment, but a
misjudgment that cost a lot. The way the wheel has touched the
chassis basically cracked the chassis, and we cannot use two
chassis on the same day, so that meant basically the whole day not
in the car." Leclerc has just nine laps to his name ahead of final
practice and is playing catch-up to the rest of the field. However,
the Monegasque does not believe the lack of mileage will hurt his
pace come qualifying on Saturday evening in Canada. "That hurts
because that obviously cost us quite a few laps today, but the very
positive thing is that I felt very confident with the car," he
said. "I think we were very competitive at that time, for whatever
it's worth, because it was only the third [push] lap of the day.
"It doesn't hurt my confidence, and I'm sure that it won't hurt my
weekend at all. "I'm sure I'll be up to speed in Qualifying. How
competitive we will be is another matter, and then we'll have to
see. But I'm sure that personally I'll be 100 per cent."
