Leclerc opens up about Ferrari's risky strategy after tough qualifying

Having only qualified seventh for Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has opened up about his awkward strategy in the final segment of qualifying.

Lewis Hamilton complained about his gearbox in FP3 while his team-mate Charles Leclerc looked to be in fine form as he took third in final practice.

Leclerc and Hamilton then did get both cars into the final qualifying segment which was a good first step. However, the Monegasque only had a single set of fresh softs for Q3 which meant that he only ran once, with his effort having been enough for P7 on the grid.

His team-mate was able to have two goes, his second quick enough for fifth which was a good result considering how unhappy he was with his car through the practice sessions.

Reflecting on his qualifying, Leclerc stated: "I knew it would be a difficult qualifying. We only had 4 new sets of Softs for this qualifying session compared to others who had 5, but we made that choice and I think we can put up a good fight starting from P7 tomorrow.

"Our race pace looks good and we have a different selection of tyres available to us compared to those starting around us, so we will see if our decision pays off.

“I mean, the run plan we had no choice – I had no tyres anymore. I think we were one of the only cars that had four [sets of] softs going into quali, which was very difficult already.

Leclerc continued: “We [also] had to go out in Q1 once again, and there we… I mean, we sacrificed another soft, so I only had like three new softs for Q1, Q2 and Q3, against others that had five new softs. It was a bit tricky, but it’s the way it is.

“I hope that our tyre choice will pay off for tomorrow, because on the other hand we more new [sets of mediums and hards] than others. I hope it will pay off," Leclerc concluded.