Charles Leclerc ‘ashamed’ after heavy Barcelona crash ruins pole bid

Charles Leclerc said he was “ashamed” after his Q3 crash cost him a chance of pole position for the Barcelona Grand Prix.

Running wide on the exit of the long Turn 4 right-hander, a snap of oversteer sent him spearing towards the gravel and the barriers and out of qualifying.

Charles Leclerc ‘very ashamed’ after Barcelona GP qualifying crash

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The frustrated Ferrari driver climbed out of his car while, following a red flag to retrieve the stricken Ferrari, teammate Lewis Hamilton qualified on the front row alongside George Russell.

Leclerc had been on the pace throughout qualifying, before his first run in Q3 ended early.

Having swapped certain brake materials heading into the weekend, he assured his new configuration was not at the root of his accident.

The crash comes after nosing into the barrier at Monaco last weekend to end his race, the Monegasque said he was “very ashamed” of himself.

“I felt very at ease with it, and there’s nothing of that,” he said when asked about his brake component changes to PlanetF1.com and others. “There’s no excuses on trying to find the reference or whatsoever.

“I feel very ashamed after last three weekends that have been particularly difficult for me to find pace for issues I had today and this weekend.

“Everything felt really, really good, and in these days I need to deliver, and I didn’t, so I feel very ashamed in general.

He added of how his crash came about: “I tried to release brakes earlier, trying to carry more speed, as I knew it was the main weakness, if not the only weakness, because we were very fast in all the corners.

“Tried to carry more speed in, worked out, but then I went on traction on the dirty side of the track, and lost the rear, but there’s not much to excuse myself.”

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Starting in 10th as a result of not setting a time in qualifying 3, Leclerc will line up on the dirty side of the grid before a long run down to Turn 1.

With Ferrari looking competitive this weekend, Leclerc believes a comeback through the field may be possible. In the moment, however, he is looking at himself after his crash.

“I think we can do great tomorrow, and I think we can come back,” he added.

“So, I’m optimistic for tomorrow, but for now, the disillusion of quali is all I can think of.”

George Russell qualified on pole for Mercedes in Barcelona, ahead of Hamilton and world championship leader, Kimi Antonelli.

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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