Charles Leclerc finished fifth in the Canadian Grand Prix after starting the race from eighth place. Although he had to negotiate strategy with his team, he also admitted that he compromised his weekend from the moment he went off track on Friday.
“My thinking was that I was really struggling on hard tyres, and the car was also having more difficulty on the hards. I felt it with Lewis during the first stint, and when I saw that the leaders’ performance on new hards wasn’t different from mine, I had in mind a one-stop strategy,” Leclerc told Canal+.
“It was very close on paper before the race, and it wasn’t a bad strategy because I wasn’t experiencing graining on the mediums. That’s what I had in mind, but I don’t think it would have made much difference,” continued the Monegasque, who isn’t frustrated by the lengthy strategic discussions.
“It’s part of the game. There were more negotiations than we would have liked today, but that’s how it is. It’s a frustrating race, a frustrating weekend, and I’m the first to admit I didn’t do the job because we lost FP1 and FP2. In qualifying, I shouldn’t have made a mistake.”
“I managed to piece everything together today, but it wasn’t enough because we were starting from the back due to my mistake. In the last few weekends, I’d been maximising the car’s performance every time it was on track. This weekend, I don’t think I did.”
Hamilton Shocked by Groundhog Hit in Grim Canada GP
Lewis Hamilton, who finished sixth, seemed more horrified at the end by what happened to a groundhog that crossed in front of his SF-25 than by his race result.
“Until then, the feeling was pretty good. I got a good start, held my position, and stayed with the right group. I was managing the tyres well, so I was feeling optimistic.”
“I didn’t see anything coming, but I heard I hit a groundhog. It’s terrible, because I love animals and I’m so sad about it. It’s horrible.”
“It had never happened to me here before, but the floor on the right side was damaged. On top of that, we had a brake issue midway through the race, and we probably stayed out too long on the first stint. We ended up in traffic and then had a string of incidents.”
“I’m glad I finished, especially with the brake issue. We really need an upgrade, and there are a lot of things that need to change for us to be competitive at the front.”
