Charles Leclerc crashed out of qualifying after a bizarre incident, during Q3, at the 2026 Formula 1 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
Leclerc, who crashed out of his home race at Monaco, just a week ago, saw his SF-26 in the barriers once again, this time during Q3 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The Ferrari driver was on his first push lap before a snap of oversteer caught him unawares and sent him barrelling towards the barriers outside Turn 4.
Leclerc’s incident brought out the red flag with about eight minutes left in the session with the Monegasque now slated to start the race on Sunday from 10th on the grid.
Speaking to media including Motorsport Week, Leclerc explained how counteracting to the car’s “weakness” on corner entry eventually caused his crash.
“I tried to release the 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 corners,” he said.
“I tried to carry more speed in, it 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.”
Charles Leclerc makes “no excuses” after ‘shameful’ F1 Barcelona GP qualifying shunt
Leclerc’s DNF at Monaco saw him make some stern revelations about the issues he’d been facing since Miami.
He revealed how brake issues had been hindering his progress in the car. For Barcelona, Leclerc had opted to ditch his Brembo configuration for team-mate Lewis Hamilton’s preferred Carbon Industrie setup.
When asked if calibrating his driving to the new brakes had augmented his plight, Leclerc forthrightly refused.
“No, there’s none of that and honestly, I adapted very well straight from FP2,” Leclerc added.
“I felt very at ease with it and there’s nothing of that, there’s no excuses on trying to find a reference or whatsoever.”
The Monegasque took the onus on himself this time, adding that he felt “ashamed” by how qualifying turned out for him.
“I feel very ashamed,” he said. “After the last three weekends, that have been particularly difficult for me to find pace for issues I had.
“Today, and this weekend… I think everything felt really, really good. In these days I need to deliver and I didn’t, so I feel very ashamed in general.”
Looking forward to the Grand Prix on Sunday, however, Leclerc insisted he was “optimistic” that Ferrari can do “great” with the upgraded package it has brought to Barcelona.
READ MORE – Ferrari brings barrage of upgrades to F1 Barcelona GP
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