Charles Leclerc laments "worst weekend of my career" after troubled Saturday in Montreal

The Ferrari driver has struggled throughout the weekend to find confidence in the SF26 around Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, while teammate Lewis Hamilton has looked considerably more competitive and will start 5th.

Leclerc admitted after qualifying: “Honestly, it’s one of the worst weekends of my career, if not the worst. Since FP1, I haven’t had one lap where I could feel the car. I just felt like I was going to put it into the wall in every single corner I did.

"The tyres were completely out of the window today. The brakes yesterday were not in the window as well. There was never, at any time, something that was just clicking and everything was right," added the Monegasque.

Ferrari’s struggles came despite encouraging Sprint Race pace earlier on Saturday. Leclerc recovered to finish P5 after starting behind Hamilton, although he admitted track position hurt his chances.

However on Friday and Saturday in Montreal, it was also clear that the pecking order at the sharp end had Mercedes ahead, chased closely by McLaren; with the Ferrari duo about three tenths off the benchmark pace.

Leclerc’s difficulties intensified later in the day: “Qualifying did not go well for me,” he said. “I just struggled to put the tyres in the right window and was sliding around in Q1 and Q2. In Q3, I managed to gain some confidence and felt a bit better in the car, but that final position isn’t what we are aiming for.”

Leclerc explained: “In the Sprint, I think we paid the price for our starting position. The pace felt good, but I got stuck behind Oscar Piastri, who was very fast on the straights.”

Ferrari sent both cars through Q1 on used soft tyres before switching to fresh compounds from Q2 onwards. Hamilton briefly climbed to P2 with a 1:12.868 on his first Q3 run before ending the session P5.

Leclerc’s first flying lap in Q3 was compromised by traffic, leaving him with only one clean attempt. His eventual 1:12.976 was just over one tenth slower than Hamilton, but in an exceptionally tight field it dropped him to P8 on the grid.

Despite the difficult build-up, Leclerc believes Sunday’s race could still present opportunities, especially if changing weather conditions arrive in Montreal: "It will be tricky for everyone, especially if it is wet, so we will have to see how things unfold on Sunday."

Ahead of today's Canadian Grand Prix, Round 5 of the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship, Leclerc is P3 in the Drivers' standings, behind the Mercedes duo Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
(Reporting by Agnes Carlier in Montreal)