Charles Leclerc struggled with tires, brakes, and pace in Montreal—Hamilton, on the other hand, secured his best result in a Ferrari
Charles Leclerc continues to search for the causes of his disappointing weekend at the Canadian Grand Prix. Compared to teammate Lewis Hamilton, the Ferrari driver consistently lacked pace in Montreal. To find answers, Leclerc is now analyzing his teammate’s data. After the race, the Monegasque driver spoke of the “most difficult weekend” of his Formula 1 career so far.
Despite the problems, Leclerc ultimately finished in fourth place. He benefited, among other things, from George Russell’s retirement as well as a strategic error and another retirement at McLaren.
Hamilton clearly stronger than Leclerc
Leclerc was already beaten by Hamilton within the team during the Sprint Qualifying. Although he initially led the Briton in the Sprint, he fell back as the race progressed. While Leclerc said he struggled with his Ferrari, Hamilton achieved his best result in Canada since joining the Scuderia and finished the race over 30 seconds ahead of his teammate.
“It was a terrible weekend,” Leclerc explained after the Grand Prix. “I’m really disappointed with my performance. It was probably the most difficult race of my entire Formula 1 career. The pace I had all weekend was probably best on Sunday. But I still don’t understand why I had such a hard time this weekend.”
Ferrari, in particular, couldn’t find a solution regarding tire management. “We were never able to keep the tires in the right operating window. That had nothing to do with the car. Lewis did an incredible job, and congratulations to him. On my end, I just had major problems,” said Leclerc.
Leclerc analyzes Hamilton’s approach
Despite the disappointing performance, the Ferrari driver is trying to take away some insights from the weekend. “The good news is that I have Lewis in the same car and can watch what he did this weekend to find answers as to why I had such difficulties.”
He found the different approaches to preparing for the race weekend particularly interesting. According to Leclerc, Hamilton chose not to use the Ferrari simulator before a Grand Prix for the first time this year. Hamilton himself, however, did not consider this a factor and instead pointed to the changeable conditions in Montreal, which he said helped him adapt.
Montreal remains a challenging track for Leclerc
Leclerc also attributes some of his difficulties to certain track characteristics. “Montreal isn’t a track where I’ve ever felt particularly comfortable,” explains the Ferrari driver. He secured his only podium finish in Canada to date in 2019. “Similar to Melbourne, there are many corners in Montreal where I have major issues with my driving style. The car just doesn’t feel right to me there.”
According to Leclerc, additional technical issues on Friday made it difficult to get the weekend off to a good start. He had particular trouble establishing a consistent rhythm with the brakes and tires.
“When you factor in the problems from Friday, I was never really able to build confidence. On Saturday, it was almost entirely about managing the tires. On Sunday, it wasn’t quite as extreme, but I still never felt like I was really in the rhythm.”
Ferrari remains second in the Constructors’ Championship
In the Drivers’ Championship, Leclerc remains in third place with 75 points and currently holds a three-point lead over Hamilton, who is in fourth place. Ferrari currently occupies second place in the Constructors’ Championship, trailing Mercedes by 72 points.