Ferrari "was good enough for pole," claims Leclerc after his disappoiting final push lap in qualifying

F1 Grand Prix, GP Canada, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

Having set purple sector time in the opening part of the Montreal circuit, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was forced to bail out of his final push lap after losing the back end of his SF-25 into Turn 6.

Charles Leclerc had a tough opening day at the Canadian Grand Prix as he hit the walls at Turn 3 at the beginning of Free Practice 1. The incident forced him to sit out the rest of the day as Ferrari needed to change the survival cell of his car and the sporting regulations state that drivers cannot take part in the remainder of the practice day in case of a chassis change.

However, the Monegasque looked in fine form in final practice, ending up second behind McLaren's Lando Norris despite his heavily limited mileage on the weekend.

Leclerc was once again very competitive in qualifying, and he looked in contention for pole position. The 27-year-old set purple time in Sector 1 on his last push lap, but made a mistake into Turn 6 and was forced to abort his final hot lap. In the end, he had to settle with a disappointing P8.

Reflecting on his disappointing result in the Montreal qualifying, Leclerc said: "I felt at ease in the car in FP3 and in qualifying, and I believe the car was good enough for pole today. So naturally, I am disappointed with a P8.

"I was ready to put it all together on my last lap in Q3, but unfortunately I found Isack (Hadjar) ahead of me in Turn 6 and with the dirty air, you lose quite a lot of downforce on a track like this. I lost the rear and had to abort my lap.

“Our pace was there. I think the car was good enough for pole, but I f***** it up completely and I’m very annoyed. I just got out the car so obviously emotions are running high. I’m very annoyed.

“I don’t know if it was the right thing or not to go out early – we ended up having Isack [Hadjar] in the middle of Turn 6 or 7. He was 100 metres in front, but with these cars and on a track like this you lose all the grip.

The Ferrari driver suggested that he had a car that was "good enough" for pole, but he still hopes to be able to fight for a podium finish despite his disappointing starting position.

“It’s a shame because until then I think it was… I mean, we only had done seven corners but I think it was good enough for pole so I’m very frustrated. I think today the car was really good and we haven’t maximised anything.”

"We need a good start tomorrow and will fight to work our way to the front, hoping to finish on the podium,' concluded Leclerc.